US diplomat’s spouse ‘under influence’ crashes car in Turkey

Mounir Elkhamri, spouse of US Consul General in Istanbul Julie Eadeh, was involved in a car accident on Thursday injuring one person while reportedly driving under the influence of alcohol.

The accident took place in Istanbul’s Sisli neighborhood at 5 a.m. local time when Elkhamri crashed his diplomatic-plated car into the one ahead of him. The injured driver was being treated at an Istanbul hospital, Turkey’s private Demiroren news agency (DHA) reported. The image released by the DHA showed the car’s rear partly smashed by the crash. 

Citing unidentified sources, DHA reported that Elkhamri failed the sobriety test conducted by police after the crash. He blew a 0.24 BAC in a breathalyzer during the test, above the legal threshold of 0.05. The authorities launched an investigation into the accident.

The US Embassy in Ankara was not immediately available for comment.