Deadly crash leaves three people dead. Three Palestinians were killed and 17 more were injured in a brutal car crash on route 443 near the Maccabim checkpoint in the Modiin area. Three of the wounded are in serious to critical condition.
The commercial vehicle transporting some 20 West Bank Palestinians who entered Israel illegally, overturned in the middle of the road.
A police inquiry indicates that the driver had been speeding, lost control of the vehicle and eventually hit the crash barrier, causing it to flip over. Police sources said that the vehicle did not contain passenger seats in its trunk.
The wounded were evacuated by Magen David Adom emergency services to hospitals in Jerusalem.
"There were many people in the vehicle despite it not being a big vehicle," paramedic Yossi Lipsitz said. He also added that the vehicle was completely squashed.
Police are inquiring whether the vehicle had been stolen.
Efrat Weiss, Eli Senyor, Tal Rabinovsky and Meital Yasur-Beit Or contributed to this report