A truck driver was killed and three other people were injured on Tuesday in an accident on the newly opened Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge that occurred when the truck driver got out of his vehicle to take a selfie, the Cumhuriyet daily reported.
According to the account of a worker on the bridge who witnessed the tragedy, the accident took place when the truck driver, identified as Mustafa Demir, and his son Ahmet stopped their vehicle in the far right-hand lane of the bridge to take a selfie with a view of the Bosporus in the background.
A rapidly approaching truck hit the back of the parked vehicle, causing Mustafa Demir to be crushed between his truck and the barrier. Demir, who was critically injured in the accident, subsequently died in the hospital.
Three other people including Demir’s son were injured in the collision.
The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, a third span over the Bosporus, connects the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. It was opened with a ceremony on Friday.
The $3 billion bridge was built over the Bosporus Strait as part of the North Marmara Highway project. The bridge has 10 lanes, two of them for train lines. The 59-meter-wide span measures 164 meters from end to end and has 322-meter-high towers.
Since the opening of the bridge there has been a selfie frenzy, with many people flocking there to photograph themselves and the view from the span.