According to reports, around noontime on Tuesday, as a truck drove down Leylek Street in Küçükçekmece, two cylinders of sheet iron -- each weighing 10 tons -- fell off the truck and rolled down the street, crushing five automobiles before coming to a stop. The incident reportedly took place when truck driver Şehabettin Balkan was driving up a hill, causing the cylinders, which were insufficiently secured, to fall off. They rolled roughly 50 meters down the street, slowing to a stop only after crushing five automobiles.Motorist Ethem Karakuş was driving his car behind the truck when the cylinders fell and swerved to the side of the road to avoid being crushed. One of the cylinders struck the side of his vehicle before crashing into a minibus and stopping.
The second cylinder struck a parked minibus and three other vehicles before stopping.
Area residents panicked as they observed the incident, and police responding to the scene took the truck driver into custody. Karakuş, who luckily escaped without injury, said the street was normally crowded and the situation could have been a disaster. "The truck was in motion, and I was behind it. There were about 100 meters between us, and suddenly the front of the truck tipped up. The cylinders fell out, and when I realized that they were headed toward me I swerved to the side. ... It could have been much worse," he stated. Balkan was released from custody after making a statement to police, and the cylinders were removed from the street with the help of a crane.
