TRAGEDY: Israeli marine ecologist killed in Tel Aviv road accident

The woman killed in a traffic accident by an Arab driver in Tel Aviv on Sunday was an entrepreneurial marine ecologist.

By David Isaac, World Israel News 

The woman killed in an accident reported yesterday in which an Arab driver of a truck crushed the victim underneath, turns out to be a well-known marine ecologist.

Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel, 45, was well-known in the scientific community for her expertise in the engineering of ecologically friendly coastal and marine infrastructure.

She pioneered an innovative technology, which she sold through a company she co-founded in 2012 with another marine ecologist, Ido Sella, called ECOncrete. The company sold concrete solutions to help marine lifeforms thrive. For instance, one product mimicked natural rock pools to enhance biodiversity.

In 2019, her company won first prize at the Pitch to Rich event, part of Virgin Atlantic and Calcalist’s Business Is an Adventure conference in Tel Aviv.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection issued a statement on the announcement of Percol-Finkel’s death, calling her a “friend, entrepreneur and partner.”

Percol-Finkel had been riding an electric scooter around 4:00 p.m. Sunday on HaMasger Street in Tel Aviv when she was struck by the truck, driven by a man from the Arab city of Tira.

Percol-Finkel leaves behind a husband and three daughters.

The Arab driver was taken in for questioning.

Israeli innovation