Suspects in TA hit-and-run may be charged with murder

Second man turns himself in after alleged accomplice remanded for five more days; victim Meital Aharonson laid to rest.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST STAFF
suspect 224.88 (photo credit: Channel 10)
suspect 224.88
(photo credit: Channel 10)
The Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday remanded Shai Simon, 27, of Ramat Gan for five days, after police said he was one of two suspects involved in a lethal hit-and-run accident in the city on Friday. Police sources said they were considering charging the men with murder. Shalom Yemini, 35, who police suspect was the second man in the vehicle, turned himself in to police late Sunday night. Yemini has a previous conviction of manslaughter after he stabbed another criminal to death during a dispute over drugs, police said. He served five years of his sentence. The suspects' speeding jeep allegedly ran a red light and killed Meital Aharonson, 27, of Herzliya, who was crossing with a friend at a pedestrian crosswalk on Rehov Ibn Gvirol near Kikar Rabin. Police told The Jerusalem Post that the suspects were well known to them. Local media reported that the two were linked to the Ramat Gan-based Ramat Amidar gang. A police spokesman said it was too early to say who was driving the jeep. Addressing the court, FSM Yaniv Sharon described how Simon and his accomplice had been passengers in a black Toyota Land Cruiser driven by Victor Lavi, 22, of Ramat Gan. The jeep was pulled over by police as it was leaving the Tel Aviv Port area for an alcohol spot check. A policewoman asked Lavi to step out of the vehicle. He eventually complied, exiting the jeep with the keys. According to police, the smell of alcohol was on Lavi's breath as well as his passengers'. As Lavi was talking to the policewoman, the passengers asked for the keys, claiming they wanted to turn on the air conditioning. Lavi handed the keys to his friends and then assaulted the policewoman and attempted to flee on foot, but was captured. On Friday, Lavi had his remand extended by nine days. Simon and the accomplice then started the engine and drove off at top speed, Sharon said. Eyewitnesses saw the jeep run a red light, and one saved the vehicle's license plate number on a cellphone. Eight minutes later, according to police, the jeep struck and killed Aharonson. Her friend, Meli Hameiri-Yazdi, was also hit and is currently hospitalized with serious injuries. Sasi Gaz, a Tel Aviv-based lawyer representing Simon, challenged the police account, saying it would have taken at least a quarter of an hour for the jeep to make its way from the port area in north Tel Aviv to Kikar Rabin. He added that it had not been established that the jeep had struck Aharonson. However, a large dent in the jeep's front is visible from police photos. "The police say it took eight minutes for the jeep to reach Rabin Square, but this is too fast," Gaz told the Post. "The times do not match. They claim that this is the jeep that struck the pedestrian. They need to prove this." Gaz said his client was exercising his right to remain silent, adding that Simon had denied all charges in conversations with him. Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners gathered at the Herzliya cemetery on Sunday to pay their last respects to Aharonson. Liora Aharonson, Meital's mother, interrupted the rabbi leading the funeral prayers, shouting, "She was murdered!" after the rabbi said Meital had entered the next world. Tomer, Meital's brother, fainted upon seeing his sister's body placed on a stretcher before being put in the coffin. Elsewhere Sunday evening, a woman was killed while crossing the road at a moshav in the North. Her identity had not been released by press time. A man in his 60s was also killed Sunday night in a hit-and-run on the Route 2 highway near Hadera, at the Olga interchange. The man was hit by a Hyundai after a second car hit it from behind, pushing it forward, Israel Radio reported. The Hyundai then sped from the scene. The driver of the second car has been arrested and police were searching for the Hyundai.