Motorcyclist, pedestrian die in weekend crashes

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
The last weekend of October saw carnage on the nation's roadways, but this weekend saw a steep decrease in vehicle-related deaths. Two people were killed and three were seriously injured in collisions across the country. A motorcyclist was killed at Hatzrif Junction, near Kiryat Ata, when he was struck by a car after colliding with a different car and then felling off his bike early Friday afternoon. Police initially believed that it was a hit-and-run, and set up checkpoints to apprehend the driver of the car that struck him, only to discover that the shaken-up driver, 36, had pulled to the side of the road a few meters away from the scene. An initial investigation indicated that the victim hit a vehicle that was traveling in front of him and then fell off his bicycle. He was then struck by an oncoming vehicle. Early Friday evening, Eileen Meron Jeris, 77, was killed and four people were injured when a vehicle overturned on Route 85 near the Galilee town of Sajur. The four injured were hospitalized in fair-to-moderate condition. At the Ra'anana Junction, a car struck a pedestrian who was crossing the road. The victim was taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva in serious condition. Late Saturday afternoon, a car struck a motorcycle on Route 25 between Beersheba and Sde Teiman. Two people who were riding on the motorcycle were taken by MDA rescue personnel to Beersheba's Soroka Medical Center in serious condition.