Family destroyed: Speeding Arab teen claims life of Jewish mother, 3-week-old child

A mother and 3-week-old child were killed in a traffic accident in the Binyamin Region. A 12-year-old son was critically injured and the father seriously.

By World Israel News Staff

Tzipi Rimmel, 34, and her three-week-old baby girl, Noam Rachel, were killed in a traffic accident when they were struck by a fast-moving car on highway 443 on Saturday night in the Binyamin region shortly after the Jewish Sabbath.

Tzipi’s 12-year-old son Iti is in critical condition and fighting for his life. Her husband Ephraim was also seriously injured.

According to the police’s initial report, the Rimmel family was hit by a car driven by a 19-year-old from the Arab village of Aqab who was going over the speed limit.

The teen slammed into their car from behind and drove it into the car in front of them. Four cars in total were involved in the accident, Israel Hayom reports.

The Rimmels are from Neve Tzuf, a Jewish town in Binyamin, which is in Samaria. According to Arutz7, they are pillars of the community.

The Neve Tzuf community said: “The Rimmel family is an old family in the community and loved by all who know them. Tzipi, an amazing person, full of love, cheerful and caring for everyone. Very involved in the community. She worked as an English teacher at the school in the Yishuv.

“The two were in the past youth coordinators in the Yishuv and served as envoys to the Jewish community in Chicago. Their little daughter, Noam Rachel, who was born three weeks ago, filled the family with joy.

“The catastrophe is unimaginable, it is a family full of kindness and action. The entire community is mourning… Please pray… for the family’s health – father Ephraim Zvi Moshe and son Itai Yaakov ben Zippora who were injured in the accident,” the community said.

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

“This is a matter that extends beyond political disagreements. Car accidents are the number one cause of death in the West Bank,” Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan told The Times of Israel in 2017.

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.

Binyamin regionCar accident