4 killed, 5 injured in road accidents around the country

67-year-old pedestrian killed in a hit-and-run accident among the victims.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
MDA 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
MDA 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Two people were killed in separate hit-and-run accidents on Tuesday, while two others were killed in other accidents around the country.
In Rehovot, 67-year-old pedestrian Shmuel Rosenstein was struck down and killed by 19-year-old Sagi Gamliel, who was driving drunk early Tuesday morning, police said.
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Gamliel, who had spent the night drinking at a park, fled the scene of the accident, parked his badly damaged vehicle near his home in Rehovot, and went to sleep with his 18-year-old girlfriend, who had been in the passenger seat, police alleged.
A Magen David Adom ambulance crew found Rosenstein dead at the scene. Police traced the car to Gamliel’s home an hour later, and woke the couple up when they raided the home. During questioning, Gamliel claimed Rosenstein darted out into the street without warning, and said he fled the scene after panicking.
Police are expected to analyze blood samples taken from the suspect to gage his level of intoxication, and to see whether he had also used any drugs.
Both Gamliel and Rosenstein were employed by the same cleaning company, which was contracted by the Rehovot Municipality for various jobs around the city. Gamliel’s father, Beni, defended his son’s actions, saying he did not “mean to run away,” and blamed the accident on Rosenstein for “suddenly entering the road.”
“Now my son’s life is ruined,” Beni Gamliel said. His comments were echoed by Gamliel’s attorney, Yaron Forer.
In a separate hit-and-run accident, a 60-year-old pedestrian was run down and killed in north Tel Aviv near the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds by what police suspect was a truck or van. Police have launched a manhunt for the driver and are appealing for witnesses.
In a head-on collision in the Negev region between a private vehicle and a truck, a young man was killed near Shoket Junction on Route 31. MDA Negev crews pronounced the driver’s death at the scene and evacuated the truck driver in satisfactory condition to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
According to investigators, the driver drifted into the opposite lane before colliding into the truck.
On Route 71 between Beit She’an and Sde Nahum, four people were injured in a head-on collision between two vehicles. The casualties, a 60-year-old female in serious condition, another in moderate condition and two injured lightly, were evacuated by MDA Gilboa crews to Ha’emek Medical Center in Afula.
Later on Tuesday morning, a vehicle overturned on Route 6, killing a 63- year-old driver. MDA Yarkon crews responded and pronounced the man dead. The accident took place in the northbound lanes between the Eyal and Nitzanei Oz interchanges.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report