Estimate: Prosecution won't seek manslaughter charge against truck driver
Yagmur Otman, who crushed family vehicle killing father and daughter, will apparently evade manslaughter charge as prosecution pushes for to indict for death by negligence
After a week of investigations, it is estimated that Yagmur Otman, a truck driver who crushed the Suleimani family's vehicle on Saturday killing the 5-year-old daughter and her father, will only be charged with causing death by negligence.
The police are very critical of the conclusions of internal discussions between the State Prosecutor's Office and road accident investigators, and are aiming for an indictment for a more serious charge of manslaughter.
Last Saturday, Otman's truck crashed into the Suleimanis' car on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway near Ben Shemen, killing Shani Suleimani and her father Moshe, and injuring her mother Irit and her 6-year-old brother Idan.
A police investigation revealed that the 55-year-old truck driver, who had committed over 190 traffic violations, did not mange to stop his vehicle in time and slammed into the family car with great force.
Otman’s remand was extended twice this week, as investigators were building the case for a manslaughter charge. However, state prosecutors told police they would not permit a third extension, as the accused did not pose a threat to the public.
In addition, the prosecution believes the case for manslaughter is weak, as Otman was not driving under the influence of alcohol or with a revoked license during the time of the accident. Therefore, it said, he could be convicted of causing death by negligence at most.
A senior Israel Police official told Ynet, “We were looking for a manslaughter indictment, but I guess the State Prosecution thought otherwise. They informed us that we could no longer keep him in custody. We’ve done our part, now it’s their time to make a decision (regarding what charges to file).”
