Egged bus driver Chaim Biton was released from house arrest on Wednesday, 29 Adar-I after investigators probing the fatal accident did not request an extension of his house arrest. Six people were killed in the accident R”L while others were injured, including kallah Sara bas Dina Sperling, who is in need of tefilos.
The accident occurred about three weeks ago on the Jerusalem – Tel Aviv Highway when the bus slammed into the rear left side of a parked truck. The driver is being blamed for the accident, and investigators report this was not his first on that route.
To date, Biton has told investigators he was alert at the wheel and not busy with his mobile phone as some believe was the case. There is also testimony from passengers who reported he was speeding as well. He told police the truck driver who pulled over was protruding into the right lane, adding the driver failed to put out a safety triangle as required or turn on his four-way flashers.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
should there not, at the very least, be a manslaughter charge against this driver? no one is accusing him of deliberately crashing the bus, but everyone would agree that he was reckless and negligent especially with his past history. that being the case, he should only be released with bail, pending a future trial and if it so plays out, jail time. that’s what would probably happen here in the US. i’m not sure how the israeli legal system works. my heart goes out to the injured, especially the kalla, sara bas dina sperling. what a tragedy!
Sounds to be not quite as clear cut as was made out immediately after the accident. The allegation that he interfered with the vehicle event data recorder “the black box” seems to have faded away. A check on his phone account can easily tell if he was talking before the accident. Maybe he has voluntarily provided those records to the police already.