The sentence can be translated to English as follows: "The sentence given to the drunk driver in the accident that resulted in the death of a Göztepe fan was deemed too lenient."

18.06.2025 10:22

The reduced prison sentence of 3 years and 4 months given to Ege Özkaçar, the drunk driver who caused the death of Göztepe supporter Barış Polat Dörtköşe by hitting him while he was trying to cross the road in the Karaburun district of İzmir, was overturned by a higher court on the grounds that "a light sentence was imposed." Özkaçar will appear before the judge again on July 1.

On May 28, 2022, around 20:00, a fatal accident occurred on Ayıbalığı Street in the Mordoğan neighborhood of Karaburun district in İzmir. The car with license plate 35 JF 557, driven by Ege Özkaçar (26), hit electrician Barış Polat Dörtköşe (35), who was trying to cross the road to fix a malfunction at his neighbor's house.

LOST THE FIGHT FOR LIFE AFTER 20 DAYS

Dörtköşe, a supporter of Göztepe, was seriously injured. He was taken to Dokuz Eylul University Hospital by ambulance. During the control conducted by the gendarmerie teams, it was determined that Özkaçar, who was found to be 1.56 promille intoxicated, had also committed violations according to the accident report, such as "failing to adjust the speed of the vehicle to the conditions required by the load and technical characteristics of the vehicle, visibility, road, and weather conditions." Özkaçar, whose statement was taken, was released. Dörtköşe passed away 20 days after the accident.

DANGEROUS MANEUVERS CAPTURED ON CAMERA FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

After the death of Barış Polat Dörtköşe, Özkaçar, who was taken into custody, was arrested this time. Özkaçar, who was released on August 8, was re-arrested after an appeal but was later released again under judicial control. Meanwhile, it was revealed that the driver involved in the accident was filmed by a friend in the car behind him. The footage, which was learned to have been recorded for social media, shows Özkaçar's dangerous maneuvers and the screams of the people in the car behind at the moment of the accident.

"HE WAS MORE INTOXICATED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT"

In the indictment prepared after the investigation, it was noted that there was a 66-minute difference between the time of the accident and the time the alcohol measurement was taken, and it was reported that the defendant was 1.72 promille intoxicated at the time of the incident, indicating that he could not safely operate the vehicle. It was stated that Özkaçar accepted the accusation against him, which was consistent with the course of events, and that it was established that he committed the crime of 'manslaughter by negligence' with conscious negligence. The prosecutor requested a prison sentence of up to 9 years for Özkaçar for the crime of 'causing death by conscious negligence' in the indictment.

THE FILE WENT BACK AND FORTH

The defendant Özkaçar, who started to be tried at the Karaburun Criminal Court of First Instance, said, "I had 2 beers on the day of the incident. While I was driving at a normal speed, a pedestrian suddenly appeared in front of me." The lawyers of the Dörtköşe family requested a lack of jurisdiction from the court. The Karaburun Criminal Court of First Instance ruled that the accident was 'possible intent' and issued a lack of jurisdiction decision, sending the file to the heavy penal court. However, the heavy penal court ruled that the case should be seen in the Karaburun Criminal Court of First Instance and sent the file back. The defendant began to be retried at the Karaburun Criminal Court of First Instance for the charge of 'causing death by negligence.'

SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS AND 4 MONTHS IN PRISON WITH REDUCTION

In the decision hearing held at the Karaburun Criminal Court of First Instance, Özkaçar was sentenced to 4 years in prison for 'causing death by conscious negligence'; however, a reduction was applied due to the defendant's past, behavior after the incident, and during the trial, and he was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison, and his driver's license was revoked for 2 years.

THE APPEAL COURT FOUND THE SENTENCE INSUFFICIENT

After the appeals, the file was taken to the appeal court. The İzmir Regional Court of Appeals 19th Criminal Chamber, which examined the file, decided that some of Özkaçar's documents were not included in the file and that the judgment was made with insufficient investigation. The chamber noted that it was not taken into account that a more appropriate sentence should be imposed in proportion to the severity of the act, between the lower and upper limits specified in the article, and that the basic sentence was determined without sufficiently distancing from the lower limit for Özkaçar, who was primarily and fully at fault. The chamber also emphasized that the main criterion that 'the penalty for negligent crimes should be determined according to the perpetrator's fault' should be considered, and that the reasoning of 'the personality of the defendant' to be used in individualizing the penalty was not taken into account in determining the basic sentence. The chamber overturned the local court's decision and sent the file back to the Karaburun Criminal Court of First Instance. Özkaçar will appear before the judge again on July 1.