14.11.2026 19:40
In the case concerning a traffic accident in Diyarbakır in which a 17-year-old young person lost his life, the verdict marked a remarkable development in legal history. While the court considered the car a weapon in the act against the child injured in the accident, it sentenced the 18-year-old driver to a total of 28 years, 4 months, and 25 days in prison.
In the case concerning a traffic accident in Diyarbakır’s Ergani district in which a 17-year-old high school student lost his life and an 11-year-old child was injured, the court issued a precedent-setting decision. Unlicensed driver Muhammed Mustafa Can was sentenced to a total of 28 years, 4 months, and 25 days in prison, while the court considered the car a weapon with respect to the injured child.
STRUCK STUDENTS ON THE SIDEWALK
The incident occurred on April 14 on Hastane Street in the Ergani district of Diyarbakır. Unlicensed driver Muhammed Mustafa Can (18) struck students walking to school on the sidewalk with the car he was driving. In the accident, high school student Muhammed Ali Kalkan (17) was seriously injured. Kalkan, who was taken to the hospital, lost his fight for life after 4 days. Ahmet Çınar Üstü, 11, was discharged after prolonged treatment.
It was determined that the driver was drifting and under the influence of alcohol, and a lawsuit was filed against him seeking aggravated life imprisonment.
“I DON’T HAVE A LICENSE, I TOOK THE VEHICLE WITHOUT PERMISSION”
Muhammed Mustafa Can, who was tried in detention at the Ergani High Criminal Court, said in his defense that he was a 12th-grade student at a vocational high school and did not have a driver’s license. Can stated that he took the key to a vehicle belonging to his relatives without permission to go to school, and said he had not driven a vehicle alone before.
The defendant claimed that he drank two glasses of beer the night before the incident but was not drunk at the time of the accident. Can, who argued that his speed was around 50-60 kilometers, alleged that when a child stepped into the road, he pulled the handbrake and turned the steering wheel, and that the vehicle consequently went out of control.
COURT MADE AN “EVEN IF IT HAPPENS” ASSESSMENT
The court panel examined camera footage and witness statements and did not accept the defendant’s defense. In the reasoned judgment, it was stated that there was no one who suddenly stepped into the road at the scene, and that the defendant drove fast and in zigzags in a busy area around the school where pedestrians were present.
In the decision, which emphasized that the defendant continued driving despite foreseeing that he could cause an accident that might result in death, it was also assessed that he carried out his act by accepting the consequence.
CONSIDERED THE CAR A WEAPON
The court sentenced Muhammed Mustafa Can to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of “killing a child with eventual intent” due to the death of 17-year-old Muhammed Ali Kalkan. The sentence was first reduced to life imprisonment and then to 25 years.
In the judgment concerning 11-year-old Ahmet Çınar Üstü, who survived the accident injured, the court considered the car used as a weapon. The defendant was sentenced to 3 years, 4 months, and 25 days in prison for this crime.
Thus, the defendant was sentenced to a total of 28 years, 4 months, and 25 days in prison. While Muhammed Mustafa Can appealed the decision, the file was sent to the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice for evaluation.