This is the moment a driver hits and kills a three-year-old girl crossing the road with her mother just one day after her birthday in a case that has now seen the motorist arrested.
The crash happened in Odunpazari, a district of Eskisehir in central Turkey, on 3 September.
Elif Mavi Avli was crossing the road with her mother Merve when they were struck by a car driven by a woman driver identifierd as Fatos Akil Bilgesoy.
CCTV footage shows the vehicle travelling along the residential street before hitting the mother and daughter as they cross at the junction.
Elif was reportedly dragged for 14 metres (46 feet) beneath the car, while Merve suffered minor injuries.
The badly injured youngster was initially taken to a private hospital and was later transferred to Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, where doctors were unable to save her.
The tragedy came just one day after Elif's family had celebrated her third birthday.
Bilgesoy was initially detained after the crash before a court ordered her to remain at home under judicial control on suspicion of causing death by negligence.
Prosecutors challenged the decision, arguing that the evidence in the case meant house arrest was insufficient.
Police detained Bilgesoy again on 8 September after a warrant was issued and she was subsequently remanded in custody.
The arrest came after an initial expert report prepared the day after the crash found Merve and Elif primarily at fault and Bilgesoy only secondarily responsible.
Prosecutors also challenged that finding, prompting a fresh examination of the CCTV footage, accident report and other evidence by a panel appointed by the Ankara Forensic Medicine Group Presidency.
The new report, completed on 22 September, reached the opposite conclusion and found Bilgesoy primarily responsible while clearing Merve and Elif of any fault.
Experts said Bilgesoy had approached the junction without paying sufficient attention and failed to stop and give way to the pedestrians.
The report said her "carelessness, lack of precaution and actions contrary to the rules" made her primarily at fault for the crash.
It added that Merve and Elif had entered the road at the junction and crossed most of it before being hit and had committed no action that contributed to the collision.
Elif's father Fatih said: “One of the things that affected us most was that my wife was blamed so much, and we wanted the truth to come out.
“She kept saying, ‘I am not at fault,’ and having it officially documented that the fault lies with the other side has at least brought us some relief.
“I trust Turkish justice and hope we will get a good result.”
Fatih had previously described how the family went from celebrating Elif's birthday to burying her the following day.
He said: “I want justice for my daughter, whose birthday I celebrated one day and whom I buried the next.
“May God never make anyone suffer the pain of losing a child. We want justice.”
Bilgesoy told investigators that she had been travelling at no more than 20 kilometres per hour and claimed Merve and Elif had suddenly appeared in front of her car.
She said: “I immediately braked, but because the distance was so short, I hit them and the accident happened.”
Bilgesoy added: “I do not think I am at fault in the accident.”
The investigation into Elif's death is continuing.
(Harrisons)
