A tour bus and a TIR collided on Sunday morning at the toll booths of the Gebze–Orhangazi–İzmir Motorway in Akhisar; 11 people died and 27 were injured. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said the injured were being treated in hospitals. The bus was heading from Bursa to the hot springs in Pamukkale; according to first findings, it missed the toll booth and was struck from behind while reversing. The prosecutor’s office issued a detention order for two drivers; one site reported three detentions. The colliding vehicle appears in some reports as a TIR and in others as a tractor unit; one report says it was loaded with timber (Hürriyet, Milliyet, Habertürk, DHA, Sol, Cumhuriyet, Sözcü, Dünya, BirGün).
Risky behaviour such as reversing at motorway toll booths can cause many deaths in vehicles carrying large numbers of passengers; the investigation will open up questions of responsibility and safety inspection.
If you travel by tour or intercity bus, ask about the company’s and the driver’s licence details and rest plan; slow down at toll booths and exits, and do not reverse.
Details such as the number of detentions and the type and cargo of the vehicle differ by source; the most solid information is the number of dead and injured. To watch: the court’s arrest decision, the expert report and the bus company’s authorisation documents.
Hürriyet, Milliyet, Habertürk, DHA, Sol, Cumhuriyet, Sözcü, Dünya, BirGün (Oct. 11, 2026)
Tour bus and TIR collide at Manisa motorway toll booths: 11 dead, 27 injured; according to first findings, the bus missed the booth and was struck while reversing
A detention order was issued for two drivers and the judicial investigation continues. The exact cause of the crash is not yet known.
On Sunday morning at the toll booths of the Gebze–Orhangazi–İzmir Motorway in Akhisar district, Manisa, a tour bus and a TIR collided; 11 people died and 27 were injured (Hürriyet, Milliyet, Habertürk, DHA, Sol, Cumhuriyet). Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said the injured were being treated in hospitals. The bus, travelling from Bursa to the hot springs in Denizli’s Pamukkale district, was, according to first findings, struck by the vehicle behind it while reversing after missing the Akhisar toll booths. Sources vary on the time of the crash between 11.00 and 11.11; the governor’s office said “around 11.00.”
The prosecutor’s office issued a detention order for the drivers of the two vehicles involved; most reports say two drivers are in custody, while one site reported three detentions, and the source of this difference is unclear. The type of the colliding vehicle also varies by source: Hürriyet, Milliyet and Habertürk wrote TIR, while Anadolu Agency, TRT Haber and Sol used the word tractor unit (çekici). One report says the vehicle was loaded with timber; we saw this in only one source. The judicial investigation will determine the exact cause of the crash. “Reversing” is relayed as an initial finding, not a settled conclusion.
Under the Highway Traffic Law, reversing on motorways is prohibited; DailyDrop adds this as context, and it does not mean the drivers are guilty. Sözcü, Cumhuriyet and Ekonomim wrote that footage of the moment of the crash and of the bus during its rest stop had been published; because we have not independently verified the content of this footage, we give no detail. Yeni Parti chair Özgür Özel issued a message of condolence for those who lost their lives (Cumhuriyet). We saw no official collective statement on the identities of the dead or on aid to their families.
What is certain now: that the incident took place at the Akhisar toll booths, the figures of 11 dead and 27 injured, and that the prosecutor’s office issued a detention order for two drivers. What is not certain: the type and cargo of the colliding vehicle, the number of detentions, the exact time of the crash and the reason for the reversing. A driver who misses a toll booth must continue to the next exit and turn around there; reversing creates a deadly risk both for the driver and for those behind. In the investigation, the expert report, camera footage and the drivers’ statements will be decisive; any arrest request depends on the decision of the prosecutor’s office and the judge.