One killed, four injured in West Bank car wreck

According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, the unidentified Israeli driver was killed on impact midway through the attempted turn.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Updated: OCTOBER 19, 2016 00:49
Soldiers searching for the shooter on Route 60 (photo credit: COURTESY IDF SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)
Soldiers searching for the shooter on Route 60
(photo credit: COURTESY IDF SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)
A 60-year-old man was killed and his passenger seriously injured after making a U-turn on Route 55 near Alfei Menashe in the West Bank on Tuesday and colliding with a bus.
Three people on the bus were injured. According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, the unidentified Israeli driver was killed on impact midway through the attempted turn.
“The driver obviously made an error when he didn’t look as the bus approached at full speed and hit his vehicle’s side at full impact at a 90-degree angle,” said Rosenfeld. “As a result, the man was killed, and his female passenger was treated for moderate-to-serious injuries. Three people from the bus were injured lightly and treated at an area hospital.”
The collision resulted in a temporary halt to all traffic in both directions, Rosenfeld said.
There has been a marked increase in traffic accidents in 2016, national figures illustrate. Before Tuesday’s fatal crash, there had been 293 deaths on the road in 2016 so far, according to NGO Or Yarok, the association for safer driving in Israel. This compares to 280 killed in 2015.
The National Road Safety Authority has a goal of no more than 245 traffic fatalities per year by 2020.
Or Yarok contends that there are not enough traffic police to properly protect Israeli drivers generally – a problem that is exacerbated during holidays when many Israelis travel to visit family.
“There is not enough enforcement on the street and not enough police cars to be ready for the rise of cars and people in the streets,” the organization said last month. “This is not only on [the holidays], but every day.”