Most people believe a school principal is high on our list of people who set examples for our children, but in this case, a principal may have set a less than pristine example of acceptable behavior and acting responsibly and in accordance to the law.
At about 5:00pm on shabbos afternoon, in Ashdod, an 8-year-old girl, a resident of the Wadi Joz area of eastern Yerushalayim was in the city, visiting a beach. The girl was crossing a street, in an authorized crosswalk, when a car failed to stop, striking her. The girl sustained a head injury, but surprisingly, did not fall to the ground, even managing to make her way to the beach, to join her family. She then collapsed, prompting family members to summon emergency assistance.
The girl was transported by a paramedic ambulance to Tel Hashomer Hospital, where she is now reported in light/stable condition.
Police investigators report that hit-and-run is a very serious offence, far more serious than many other vehicular transgressions.
About two hours following the incident a woman in her 50s arrived at the police station, explaining she struck the child. The woman, a principal, explained the child did not fall, continuing to walk, so she assumed she was not injured, prompting her decision to continue driving. When she heard on the radio of an accident near the beach with a girl who was injured, she realized it was her and then decided to come in to police. The woman was questioned ‘under warning’ and her license suspended for 60 days.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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4 Responses
if she herself went to the police sttion on her own will then its still considered a hit and run?
This article makes no sense. She stopped and thought the child was not injured, and the child continued to the beach and so she left. When she heard it was more serious, she returned to the police station. This is a good example from a principal.
Now of course had the driver been chareidi they wouldve gotten severe jail time.
yes, because she left the scene of the accident.
however, she claims that the girl looked unhurt and hence believed a (real) accident had not taken place.
the courts will decide.
Difficult to judge, after the fact.
One question: If the girl didn’t fall, then how did she sustain a head injury? She must have fallen, somehow – that head injury didn’t just appear from nowhere.
Perhaps she hit her head on the front of the vehicle and indeed didn’t fall. It is possible. However, in such a case, simply driving on is indeed completely irresponsible. A teacher (and especially a school principal) must be well aware of first aid procedures, and falls (including head injuries) should be a known subject to any teacher.
Anyone with any basic medical / first aid knowledge knows about such ‘delayed’ injuries. These situations happen, amongst others, with head injuries, non-penetrating abdominal and thoracic trauma, and drowning. People in these situations may appear to be doing fine and continue on their way, and collapse five minutes (or several hours) thereafter. This is why such injuries should always be evaluated by a physician, preferably in an emergency room.