One person was killed and 32 injured Tuesday morning when an Egged bus slammed into a tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder of Route 1 near Ben Shemen Junction.
One man sustained fatal injuries and died en route to the hospital. Of the injured, two people were in serious condition, five suffered moderate injuries and at least 15 were lightly hurt.
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Arava road car crash victims laid to rest 2 dead, 5 injured in fatal road accident in South An Egged spokesperson said the bus, traveling the main 405 line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, struck the right side of the truck, which was parked on the shoulder of the highway. An eyewitness confirmed that account to Israel Radio.
The force of the collision shattered the bus’s windshield and ripped open its right side.
Police, fire and MDA crews were deployed to the scene, and paramedics evacuated the injured to Assaf Harofeh, Tel Hashomer and Kaplan hospitals.
Police closed Route 1 between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to investigate the incident. Traffic was diverted to Route 443 via Modi’in, and police encouraged motorists to use alternate roads including Route 444 via Ramle and the north-south Route 44.
Egged spokesman Ron Ratner said in a statement: "Egged bus number 405, en route from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and in near-full capacity, was involved in a car crash near Ben Shemen this morning … The circumstances of the accident are being investigated by the Highway Police. Egged's accident investigation unit and the bus driver are offering the police their full cooperation."
The statement said that the driver, who was unharmed, "has a perfect 27-year driving record. The bus was examined by Egged's central garage on May 20 and was in top technical condition. Egged is deeply saddened by this accidents and wishes the injured a speedy recovery."
Less than two weeks ago four family members were killed when their car swerved out of control en route to Eilat in the Arava region.