Sevim Tanürek (1934(?) – 16 May 1998) was a Turkish classical music artist.

Early life

She performed in TRT's Radio Ankara between 1950 and 1959. Afterwards, she started her stage performances in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. She released some 45 rpm singles, sang together with her musical group in a number of film scores and acted also in three movies and one television series as a singer.

Traffic crash and death

On 11 May 1998 at around 11:45 a.m. local time, while walking on a

pedestrian crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American and Canadian English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or Avenue (landscape), avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna Convention on Road Sign ...

with a green traffic light for pedestrians, she was hit by a motorist and severely injured. The driver, who fled the scene of the crash, was identified as

Ahmet Burak Erdoğan Ahmet Burak Erdoğan (born 5 July 1979) is a Turkish businessman, the owner of MB Denizcilik, and the eldest son of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey. Personal life Ahmet Burak Erdoğan was born in Istanbul on 4 July 1979, the son ...

, son of the current President of Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

, then

Mayor of Istanbul The mayor of Istanbul is the head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The mayor is elected popularly every five years. Nuri Aslan has served as interim mayor of Istanbul since 26 March 2025. This article covers the Ottoman Empire to the ...

. Tanürek was taken suffering from severe

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...

first to

Şişli Şişli () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 10 km2, and its population is 276,528 (2022). Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş ...

Children's Hospital (), and then delivered to

Taksim German Hospital The Taksim German Hospital () is a health care institution in Cihangir, Istanbul which is owned by the Universal Hospitals Group since 1992. It was closed for a three-year refurbishment and re-opened in 1995. The hospital had around 300 beds. Univ ...

(), where she underwent surgery and was treated in the intensive care unit. Five days after the accident, she died on 16 May 1998. Ahmet Burak Erdoğan allegedly did not possess a drivers' license at the time of the accident. He was tried without being arrested. Although in a first report, he was found guilty by "3 points in 8" and a prison term of 3–20 months was suggested by the prosecutor, upgraded to 2–5 years after the death of Tanürek, he was found innocent in a final hearing and absolved, as the court found that Tanürek was alone responsible for being hit. After the accident, Tanurek's husband said that although they knew her health condition was in question, he did not expect her death. He called for the motorist to be punished, and denied agreeing to accept TL 20,000 blood money. "There cannot be forgiveness with money". Following a memorial service held in front of the Radio Istanbul building, she was laid to rest at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

. She is survived by her husband Ahmet and son Cavit.

Recognition

In 2007, a song contest was established in her honor.

Filmography

* ''Güzeller Resmi Geçidi'', movie (1960) * ''Tosun İle Yosun'', movie (1963) * ''Taş Plaktan Bugüne'', television series (1989)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanurek, Sevim Turkish classical singers 1998 deaths Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Turkey Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery 1930s births 20th-century Turkish classical musicians 20th-century Turkish women singers