21 year-old dies in Wadi Ara car crash; riot nearly starts
Man trying to escape police blocked bus's path causing it to overturn; police source: Youths who hurled rocks will be arrested.
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
A lethal car crash occurred on Saturday in which a 21-yearold driver from Umm el-Fahm, who tried to flee police, died after slamming his jeep into a bus.The accident threatened to turn into a full-scale riot when several residents of Umm el- Fahm gathered around the accident scene and threw rocks at emergency workers.RELATED:Police use stun grenades to disperse Umm el-Fahm protestA police source told The Jerusalem Post that police were due to make arrests of suspected rock-throwers in the near future.“I believe they will be arrested soon,” the source said.The incident began when Ahmad Jabril was spotted by traffic officers talking on a cellphone and driving without a seat belt on Route 65, near the village of Mushraifa on Saturday afternoon, police said.A Traffic Police car pulled Jabril over, but as the policeman exited his vehicle and walked toward Jabril's jeep, the driver fled the scene at high speed and attempted a U-turn a short distance further on, resulting in a head-on collision with a bus carrying people who had returned from a day-trip to the North.The bus flipped on its side and fell into a roadside ditch.Jabril was instantly killed in the crash, and 20 bus passengers were lightly injured. They were taken to the Emek Medical Center in Afula, together with a policeman who suffered a facial injury during the clash with the youths from Umm el- Fahm.Police refused to confirm reports Saturday evening that a computer check had revealed Jabril’s driver’s license was invalid for the sports utility vehicle he was driving.In a separate incident, Jaber Abu Kaf, 24, a Beduin, was killed overnight Friday when two vehicles collided on Route 25 near Nevatim in the Negev. Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.