12-year-old still fighting for life after crash that killed mother, baby sister

Eyewitnesses at the scene said that the Arab was traveling very fast and deliberately did not stop despite the red traffic light and cars waiting at the intersection.

By World Israel News Staff

A 12-year-old boy is fighting for his life and his father remains in critical condition after a deadly crash on Saturday night that killed the boy’s mother and sister, reports Arutz Sheva.

On Saturday night, near the settlement of Givat Ze’ev, just north of Jerusalem, the Rimmel’s car was hit by a 19-year-old Arab who was going over the speed limit.

Tzipi Rimmel, 34, was killed on the spot, and her three-week-old baby girl, Noam Rachel, succumbed to her injuries shortly after being rushed to Hadassah University Hospital.

Tzipi’s husband Ephraim, 40, is in the ICU after undergoing emergency stomach surgery on Saturday night, and their 12-year-old son Itai is in critical condition after sustaining life threatening injuries to his head and internal organs.

The Rimmels are from Neve Tzuf, a Jewish town in Samaria.

Eyewitnesses at the scene said that the Arab was traveling very fast and deliberately did not stop despite the red traffic light and cars waiting at the intersection, the reports says.

Otzma Yehudit party members are also saying that the crash was intentional.

“We urge the police to conduct an in-depth investigation into the motives of the offending driver and examine whether there weren’t nationalist motives in his reckless driving and if he had any intentions of taking the opportunity of vehicles waiting at the junction for a green light to kill Jews,” Otzma Yehudit said.

Traffic accidents in Judea and Samaria have been an ongoing problem.

In Israel as a whole, the number of fatal car accidents increased by 14 percent in the first three quarters of 2019, reaching a total of 228 fatal accidents compared to 200 in the same period last year, reported TPS in November.