The Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning, 27 Marcheshvan, extended the remand of the driver who caused the fatal crash last week on Route 90 that killed the entire Atar family, parents and their six children R”L. The driver, 52-year-old Loren Ankari of Givon, claims he was using medical cannabis, but police have since learned he did not have a license for medical marijuana and it appears operating his vehicle under the influence of drugs caused the fatal crash. Police presented the court with evidence that Ankari was trying to interfere with the investigation. Justice Ron Solkin therefore complied with the request to order him remanded for an additional eight days.
The victims of the crash were the Atar family, residents of Psagot, a Yishuv in the Binyamin Regional Council of Shomron with about 300 families. Yariv (father – 45), Shoshi (mother – 47), Yaakov Yisroel (12), Ateres (11), Ayala (9), Moriah (7), Yedid (5) and Avigayil (3) all perished in the blaze, burned alive in the crash as their van exploded on impact and rescuers could not get them out despite heroic efforts to do so.
Persons involved in the ongoing probe report that “significant progress” has been made in the case since the diver’s remand was last extended, pointing to him driving under the influence of drugs.
Judge Solkin added that “the time has come for a renewed general preparedness to prevent accidents that will also take into account factors that are outside the human factor. An independent body should be established in the State of Israel to investigate road accidents, to conduct investigation whose purpose is not to prosecute suspects and the findings collected in these investigations cannot be used for this purpose [to prosecute]”.
“However”, he said, “this does not detract from the responsibility of the human factor, and in this case, there is substantial evidence to support the suspicion that the accident was caused as a result of gross negligence and even frivolousness or indifference, leading to the grave result on the part of the suspect,” Justice Solkin concluded.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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I hope that everyone notes that there has been so little reported on this heartbreaking tragedy, yet it has been non-stop on the incident in Pittsburgh, something that surely made even the malachei hashoreis gag.