A tragedy on the side of the road during a traffic stop in northern Israel. Hajar Nasser Kabha, 20, from Ar'ara in the Wadi Ara area, was killed Thursday afternoon in an unusual traffic accident on Highway 65 near the Iron Interchange. The young woman had been forced to get out of her car on the side of the road because of a traffic violation, when a driver in another vehicle suddenly veered out of her lane and struck her.
The young woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver who hit her was lightly injured and taken for medical treatment.
Hajar Nasser Kabbah and the scene of the accident
(Photo: MDA)
An initial investigation by traffic examiners in the Menashe area found that an officer from the National Traffic Police spotted the young woman using a cellphone while driving and ordered her to pull over. Since she had no identification documents, she was asked to approach the police motorcycle so she could be identified through the terminal.
After the identification process was completed, the officer instructed the young woman to return to her car to receive the ticket for the offense she had committed. Moments before she got into her vehicle, a passing car veered out of its lane for reasons that remain unclear, nearly hit the officer, slammed into the young woman’s car and fatally struck her.
Police said in a statement: “A report was received of a fatal traffic accident on Highway 65 near the Iron Interchange, during which a vehicle that veered from its lane struck a woman who was standing outside her car, after she had been lawfully stopped for inspection on the shoulder as part of traffic enforcement following suspicion of a traffic violation. Medical officials pronounced her dead at the scene. Traffic examiners from the Menashe area in the Coastal District have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident.”