10.07.2026 10:31
New security camera footage has emerged regarding the accident in Kayseri where medical student Yaren Mercan lost her life after being hit by drunk driver Kadir Efe. The footage shows Mercan being thrown into the air upon impact and her helmet falling off. The trial of defendant Efe has been postponed.
The trial of Kadir Efe, the drunk driver arrested in connection with the accident that claimed the life of Yaren Mercan (22), a medical student in Kayseri, has been adjourned, while new footage of the accident has emerged. The footage shows Mercan on a motorcycle being flung into the air upon impact, with her helmet also coming off and falling.
The accident occurred on the evening of March 19 on Sayer Avenue in the Mevlana neighborhood of Talas district. A car driven by Kadir Efe with license plate 38 YE 008 collided with a motorcycle ridden by Yaren Mercan. Mercan was thrown several meters in the crash and injured. A fourth-year student at Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Mercan died in the hospital a day later.
DRUNK DRIVER ARRESTED
The car driver Kadir Efe, taken into custody, was found to have a blood alcohol level of 1.05 promil. Drunk driver Efe was arrested after being brought before the court. Mercan, who lost her life, was laid to rest in the city cemetery on March 21 following an autopsy. At the funeral, a doctor's coat was draped over Yaren Mercan's coffin.
INDICTMENT PREPARED
The investigation conducted by the Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was completed and an indictment was prepared. In the indictment accepted by the 25th Criminal Court of First Instance, a sentence was sought against the suspect Efe for the crime of 'causing death by conscious negligence'.
TRIAL BEGAN
In the first hearing of the case held last week at the 25th Criminal Court of First Instance, detained defendant Kadir Efe attended via SEGBIS from prison, while Mercan's complaining mother Binnaz, father Mehmet, sister Büşra, and younger sister Damla Mercan, along with party lawyers, were present in the courtroom. Yaren Mercan's friends from medical school came wearing doctor's coats to support the Mercan family.
'I WANT MY RELEASE'
Defendant Kadir Efe stated that he has been detained for 3 months and did not want this to continue, saying, 'I provide for the family. I know I will be sentenced. I will have another child soon. The incident was purely a traffic accident. I want my release.' The deceased Mercan's complaining family requested the heaviest punishment for the defendant.
The judge, in an interim ruling, ordered the continuation of the defendant Efe's detention and adjourned the hearing to address deficiencies.
NEW FOOTAGE EMERGED
New footage has emerged of the moment of the accident in which university student Yaren Mercan, who spent the Ramadan holiday studying in Kayseri, lost her life. In the footage obtained by DHA, Mercan is seen being thrown into the air upon impact, and her helmet also flying off and falling to the ground.