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 protest
A 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.


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