Arrests made in soldier’s hit-and-run death

Police say several other vehicles being investigated for involvement in incident near Yokne'am.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JOANNA PARASZCZUK
crime scene (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [illustrative])
crime scene
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [illustrative])
Police said a breakthrough occurred in an investigation into the hit-and-run that left a 19-year-old soldier dead on Saturday near Yokne’am.
A van driver and five passengers were arrested in connection with the incident, police said, following the partial lifting of a media ban.
“Several other vehicles are being examined” to see if they were involved in the accident that killed the soldier, Amnesh Yasatzu, who was walking out of a gas station when she was struck.
Police suspect one vehicle struck Yasatzu down, before three other vehicles ran over her.
One woman later came forward to tell police she felt she “struck something” while driving along Route 66 in the North.
“We’re asking other drivers who were involved to come forward before our investigations team reaches them through forensic findings,” a police spokesman said.
The spokesman did not say whether police thought the van driver was the first to hit the soldier or not.
The Nazareth Magistrate’s Court allowed the release of limited information regarding the investigation on Tuesday, following a closeddoor session.
Judge Osaila Abu Assad said there has been progress in the investigation, and there will be more arrests to come.
A gag order remains on other details of the investigation.