(VIDEOS & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)
A truck collided with a pedestrian bridge on Israel’s Highway 4, causing it to collapse and trap the truck, killing the driver R”L.
The bridge, located near the Coca Cola factory outside Bnei Brak, crosses the major stretch of highway between Givat Shmuel and Bnei Brak.
United Hatzalah paramedics first responded to the scene at around 8PM on Monday night. Hundreds of rescue workers were on hand to extricate the victim and remove the debris.
It took first responders several hours to access the truck’s cabin, by which time they found the driver, 58-year-old Elichai Tederi lifeless.
His wife, from Holon, said she was on the phone with her husband at the time of the crash.
Police initially believed there was a second passenger, but that was found untrue when they finally removed the extremely heavy debris that had fallen on top of the cabin.
B’chasdei Hashem there were no pedestrians crossing the bridge at the time of the collapse.
Police blocked Highway 4 between Mas’ov interchange and Aluf Sadeh interchange in both directions following the collapse of the bridge.
Netivei Israel, which oversees Israel’s roads, announced that the bridge collapse was the result of severe damage caused by the truck’s crane, which was illegally raised to a height that was above the permitted level .
Netivei Israel added they expected the highway to be reopened by morning, following a full review to ensure safety.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
“Netivei Israel, which oversees Israel’s roads, announced that the bridge collapse was the result of severe damage caused by the truck’s crane, which was illegally raised to a height that was above the permitted level .”
This cannot be a real comment. A bridge that was only sitting on pillars and weighing tons was pushed off the pillar by a single truck? Where is the call for an investigation into the planning and execution of the building of the bridge? To be destroyed by a single truck not even an eighteen wheeler is incredible and extremely criminal in the architectural planning and execution.
Well, if the 20 ton truck was going 120 km/hr with crane sticking out high enough, it could have waged the bridge section up just enough to pull it off the supports. From the pics you can see that bridge section only moved about 30 feet, that really short stopping distance for a truck this big.