Turkish teen biker brain-dead after colliding with police car in France

A 16-year-old boy of Turkish descent who was injured when his motorbike collided with a police car in central France was declared brain-dead Thursday.

Sefa Sahin's motorcycle collided with the police car late Wednesday in the town of Elancourt, located 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Paris.

The family's lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, confirmed that Sahin is brain-dead and denied media allegations that the accident happened as the teenager hit the police vehicle.

Bouzrou said the police officers chased the teenager before the accident, adding they will file a criminal complaint regarding the incident for "attempted murder."

The teenager's uncle, Nuri Sahin, spoke to Anadolu, saying that when he arrived at the scene, he was not allowed to approach his nephew and accused the police of making him wait there until his nephew went into brain death.

Saying the police tampered with the CCTV cameras on the surrounding buildings, Sahin noted that he learned what happened from eyewitnesses.

Based on the testimonies of witnesses, he said a police vehicle blocked the way of his nephew without warning, which resulted in him hitting the front hood of the vehicle.

After that, another police vehicle hit the teenager, who was left on the ground for more than half an hour, Sahin added.

He said that officers administered CPR to his nephew while a passer-by called the fire department.

Saying that his nephew was taken to a hospital an hour and a half away from the scene instead of hospitals that are five to 10 minutes away, Sahin said they argued with the hospital to prevent his nephew from being unplugged from the life support unit and gained three to four days.

"My nephew is now brain-dead. We want to take my nephew to Türkiye because we do not trust the hospital here in any way," he said.

"The hospital now wants to pull the plug on my nephew," he added.