08.11.2026 11:03
Hatice Yıldırım, the mother of 18-year-old Ceren Karadayı, who lost her life after being hit by the car driven by Kübra Sulutaş, who had a blood alcohol level of 2.06 promille in the Alanya district of Antalya in 2025, reacted to the upholding of the 5-year, 3-month prison sentence given to the defendant and the defendant’s release. Yıldırım said, “The equivalent of my daughter’s 18-year life cannot be 5 months in prison.” The family objected to the decision; the file was sent to the Court of Cassation.
The mother of 18-year-old Ceren Karadayı, who died after being struck by a car driven by a drunk driver in Alanya, said the sentence given was insufficient. The mother, Hatice Yıldırım, who said she kept the hair and eyelashes left from her daughter, called out to the authorities.
SHE WAS LEAVING THE GYM AND HEADING HOME
In Alanya, on November 21, 2025, a car with license plate 07 BFS 345 driven by 30-year-old Kübra Sulutaş, who had a blood alcohol level of 2.06 promille, struck Ceren Karadayı on Nazmi Hacıkadiroğlu Street as she was leaving the gym and walking home. Karadayı, who was preparing for the university exam, died in the accident, and the driver, Kübra Sulutaş, was arrested.
5 YEARS 3 MONTHS PRISON SENTENCE UPHELD
A case was filed against Sulutaş at the Alanya 6th Criminal Court of First Instance on the charge of “causing death by conscious negligence.” The court sentenced the defendant to 5 years and 3 months in prison.
The decision, which the family appealed, was found appropriate and upheld by the Antalya Regional Court of Appeals 11th Criminal Chamber on April 30, 2026. After the decision was upheld, the detained defendant, Kübra Sulutaş, was released.
Stating that it had been determined that the defendant was speeding excessively and was drunk, the family argued that the sentence was insufficient and appealed the decision again. The case file was sent to the Court of Cassation.
“I JUST WANT JUSTICE”
Mother Hatice Yıldırım, who moved to Hatay after her daughter's death due to her husband's assignment, claimed that the defendant showed no remorse throughout the trial. Yıldırım argued that the driver, who was going 81 kilometers per hour on a road with a 50-kilometer speed limit and had a blood alcohol level of 2.06 promille, should receive a heavier sentence.
Yıldırım said, “As a mother, I am begging you, hear my voice. I just want justice for my daughter. I want the incident to be evaluated within the scope of possible intent, the driver to be punished in the heaviest way, and no reduction in the sentence to be applied.”
“I KEPT HER HAIR AND EYELASHES”
Yıldırım, who said she has held on to even the smallest memento left from her daughter for years, said: “I did not even throw away the nails I cut from my daughter until she was 11. I kept her hair and eyelashes. While holding on to even the smallest memento left from her, I have now buried my daughter. I live with her absence every day. I buried my 18-year-old child. The price of my daughter's 18-year life cannot be 5 months in prison.”