6 injured in second crash on Highway 505 in as many days

The first, a head-on collision, occurred at around 3:30 p.m. on road 784 between the town of Kaukab Abu al-Hija and Morasha Junction in the Lower Galilee. Four women, probably belonging to the same family, were seriously injured and evacuated to Rambam hospital in Haifa. 

At roughly the same time, another crash was reported in Samaria on Highway 505, the site of the crash a day later. This accident happened between the Tapuach Junction and the town of Migdalim. Another four people were injured in the crash, with a 24-year-old woman in severe condition.

An hour later, a man and woman aged 40 and 35 were seriously injured and their two infant daughters moderately wounded when the car they were driving in flipped over in the Kiryat Gat region. The man was evacuated by helicopter to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.

At 6:20 p.m. police reported that a self-inflicted accident occurred in a neighborhood designated for released soldiers in the Western Galilee town of Kisra-Sumei. According to the report, a 17-year-old was seriously injured and his two brothers, aged 24 and 12, were also hurt. All three were evacuated to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. 

Ten minutes later, police reported another crash, this time on Route 60 near the Shoket Junction north of Beersheba. A motorcyclist reportedly left the nearby town of Abu Keif, while riding on one wheel and dangerously zigzagging between lanes.

According to the initial police report, a policeman from the police motorcycle unit noticed the motorcyclist and began chasing after him while calling ahead for a roadblock. The motorcyclist eventually drove into the police car blocking the road, and became trapped with his motorcycle under the car. He was extracted in serious condition and evacuated to a hospital.

The bloody afternoon comes as data shows that the number of casualties so far in 2021 is projected to surpass 2019 (in 2020, there was a significant decrease due to reduced driving during the coronavirus lockdowns). Despite consistent efforts to reduce traffic-related casualties, some 197 people have died so far this year, compared to 177 on this date in 2019.