An indictment filed by Turkish prosecutors is seeking prison sentences of up to 10 years for the parents of a teenage driver and three other suspects, accusing them of helping their 17-year-old son flee the country and concealing evidence after a fatal traffic accident in İstanbul in 2024, the T24 news website reported.
The case has attracted national attention after the driver, Timur Cihantimur — the son of novelist Eylem Tok and cosmetic surgeon Bülent Cihantimur — fled to the United States with his mother following the March 1, 2024, crash in İstanbul’s Eyüpsultan district that killed 29-year-old Oğuz Murat Aci and injured four others.
A US federal judge in Massachusetts ruled in February 2025 that Tok and her son could be extradited to Turkey, rejecting arguments that they had not been charged with extraditable offenses and clearing the way for the US State Department to consider turning them over.
The final decision now rests with the Department of State.
Although Aci’s widow and four injured victims withdrew their complaints in May 2025 after reaching a settlement for material and moral damages, Turkish prosecutors continued the case as a public prosecution, since the charges relate to a fatal traffic incident and are not dependent on individual complaints, according to the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
The indictment, drafted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, targets Tok, Cihantimur and three others on charges of protecting an offender and destroying, concealing or altering evidence.
The teenage driver is being investigated separately on charges of causing death and injury by negligence.
Cihantimur is accused of driving without a license and causing a crash that killed Aci and injured four others who had pulled their quad bikes over due to a mechanical issue.
Prosecutors allege the suspects collaborated to help the teenager evade law enforcement after the crash, preventing him from taking an alcohol test or giving a statement and facilitating his departure from Turkey.
The indictment says he was speeding at the time of the accident and left the scene afterward.
Prosecutors also claim that the suspects attempted to obtain and conceal a mobile phone belonging to one of the injured victims, which they describe as key evidence.
Although one suspect denied receiving the device, prosecutors cite security footage and an expert report contradicting that claim. The phone was later turned over to police.
According to the indictment, the teenager later traveled with his mother to Egypt and then to the United States, where they have remained for nearly two years.
Timur Cihantimur and his mother were arrested in Boston in June 2024 pursuant to an extradition request from Turkey as they were about to tour an expensive private school in Boston.
Prosecutors are seeking sentences of up to 10 years in prison for Tok, Cihantimur, Adem Kızıltepe and Ayşe Ceren Saltoğlu. Another suspect, Berna Öcalgiray, faces up to five years in prison on the charge of destroying, concealing or altering evidence.
The indictment notes that an arrest warrant has been issued for Tok and that an INTERPOL Red Notice request has been prepared due to her presence abroad.