A 20-year-old IDF soldier was convicted of manslaughter at the Haifa District Court on Tuesday for his part in a 2008 car accident in which a 15-year-old girl was killed.
The soldier, Haifa resident Noy Kalderon, was driving through the city's Ahuza neighborhood under the influence of alcohol and lost control of his car. He drove onto a traffic island, crashed into a traffic light and then strayed into the opposite lane, crashing into a stone wall.
The passenger sitting next to him was seirously injured in the accident. 15-year-old Lidor Ze'ev, who was sitting in the back seat and not wearing a seatbelt, was flung out of the car following the accident and died immediately. Kalderon was also injured.
In the verdict, Judge Moshe Gilad criticized police for failing to present video footage of the accident, which was accidentally erased.
The judge accepted the prosecution's position that Kalderon was driving carelessly at a high speed and under the influence of alcohol.
