Security footage emerges of crash that killed 3-year-old Elif

Security camera footage has emerged showing the moment a car struck three-year-old Elif Mavi Avli as she crossed a road with her mother in Eskişehir’s Odunpazarı district.

The crash took place on Sept. 3 in the Vişnelik neighborhood. The car, driven by F.A.B., struck Elif as she and her mother, Merve Avli, tried to cross the road. Emergency teams took the child to a private hospital before transferring her to Eskişehir Osmangazi University Medical Faculty Hospital. She died despite doctors’ efforts and was buried as relatives mourned.

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I want justice for my daughter, whose birthday I celebrated one day earlier and whom I then buried. May God bless everyone who supports us, and may no one suffer the pain of losing a child. We want justice.

Police detained the driver and referred her to court. A judge imposed house arrest as judicial control on suspicion of causing death through negligence. In her statement, F.A.B. said she saw a woman and child suddenly appear in front of her car after she had passed Seda Street by five to 10 meters. She said she braked immediately but could not stop because the distance was too short. She said she had been driving no faster than 20 kilometers per hour and did not believe she was at fault, adding that shock and fear had left her unable to remember parts of the incident clearly.

Elif’s family has appealed the decision and asked for the driver to be jailed. Their lawyer, Harun Günçay, said a forensic report stated that the child had been dragged 14 meters and argued that the driver should be considered principally at fault because of her alleged speed. Elif’s father, Fatih Avli, said the family had celebrated her birthday one day before her death and now wanted justice. Her uncle, Ali Avli, said he had chosen a gift for her the day before and a grave site the next. The investigation is continuing.

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I chose a gift for my niece one day, and the next day I chose a place for her grave. We want justice, nothing else.