No autopsy on crash victim's body due to haredi pressure
Member of Kretshnif Hasidic sect killed in car crash; police convinced by sect representative in Rehovot not to request post-mortem examination
An autopsy will not be performed on the body of the victim of Thursday morning's car accident at Kanot Junction due to pressure from the Hasidic sect his family belongs to.
The 40-year-old man was killed when his car collided with a truck. Three of his children were injured in the accident. Following pressure from the Kretshnif Hasidic sect, police agreed not to request an autopsy and his body was released from the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot so it could be buried as soon as possible.
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According to the investigation into the accident, the man, who was driving the car, attended the wedding of the Admor from Dzikov in Bnei Brak until the early hours of Thursday morning. After the wedding he drove his wife and two elder daughters to the airport ahead of their flight to Switzerland. He then drove to Ashdod to pick up his younger children from a wedding of a relative.
On the way back, for reasons that remain unclear, the family's vehicle collided with a truck. The man was killed, his 14-year-old daughter sustained severe injuries and two other children – aged four and seven – suffered moderate to serious wounds. Another three-year-old girl was lightly hurt in the accident.
Rehovot City Council member Pinchas Hoiminer, who represents the Kretshnif Hasidic community, convinced police not to request a post-mortem examination of the victim's body.
According to the investigation, the truck stopped at a red light and was struck from behind by the car. "I stopped at the traffic light and a car hit me from behind," the truck driver said.
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