‘Mor drank and smoked drugs before running down Heshin’

According to court testimony, hit-and-run driver drank arak, beer, smoked marijuana prior to accident that killed 43-year-old.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
New evidence came to light Tuesday morning at the Petah Tikva District Court in the trial of Tal Mor, who is charged with manslaughter, abandonment, and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in the hit-and-run accident that killed 43-year-old bicyclist Shneor Heshin.
Mor’s girlfriend, Reut Vig, was a bartender at the bar where Mor drank before the accident. She also claimed the two had smoked marijuana together outside the pub.
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“I only took a few drags and he finished the rest,” Vig explained in her testimony.
“Afterward we went back in and he ordered two half-liters of beer and drank a glass of Arak with me on the house.”
Vig added that she had no way of knowing whether Mor drank other drinks prior to their meeting at the pub, but said the two had immediately gone to another bar that night, after she had finished work.
The accident happened in the early morning of June 18.
During the court session, one of Heshin’s closest friends, Amit Levi, took the stand to testify.
He explained how Heshin and he had been training to participate in the Ironman competition in Austria. According to Levi, the ride on which Heshin was killed was in preparation for the tournament.
Levi, who had been riding with him, explained that he always rode ahead while Heshin took the rear. At a certain point Levi realized that Heshin was no longer behind him.
Levi thought that perhaps Heshin had simply fallen behind, but after a few minutes he decided to go back and check on his co-rider. It was then that he found Heshin’s body sprawled out on the road, and realized that he had been delivered a fatal blow.
Mor’s defense attorney, Tammy Ullman, questioned Levi to clarify the events of Heshin’s day prior to the accident.
Levi explained that the night before the accident Heshin had gone to an Elton John concert and returned home around 11 p.m. Ullman sought to prove that Heshin was tired and therefore may have veered into the center of the street.
Ullman has also been trying to prove that fatigue – both Mor’s and Heshin’s was the ultimate cause of the accident.
The accused opened the court session by stating confidently that he had not hit Heshin.
“I believe that when the whole picture comes together in court, the truth will come to light,” Mor said.
He added his regrets on the accident, saying he is still reeling from the incident.
“I hope that the court will serve me justly,” he said.