Corporal Ariel Ben-Shaanan
צילום רפרודוקציה: חגי אהרון
Fatal crash: Jeep 'hijacked'
Soldier with 'problematic' record hijacks jeep, drives wildly before crashing vehicle; 19 year-old Corporal Ariel Ben-Shaanan killed in accident
An initial investigation into the fatal Hummer jeep crash, in which 19 year-old Corporal Ariel Ben-Shaanan was killed, and two soldiers wounded, found that the accident was caused due to wild driving by one of the soldiers, who was lightly injured in the crash.
The investigation found that the Hummer, which was being used in a military capacity, came under the control of a soldier who had no license to drive the vehicle. The soldier began to drive wildly in the direction of a checkpoint.
Two soldiers at the checkpoint attempted to stop the driver, but he continued to drive at high speed, before doing a u-turn, at which point the jeep overturned. One of the soldiers who was sleeping at the back of the jeep when it was taken over by the driver was killed.
An IDF source said that the soldier who was at the wheel of the jeep was known to the army as problematic.
Family members of Ben-Shaanan hung the symbol of the Golani division's 51st regiment, to which Ariel belonged.
He was drafted into the army in August 2004, and desired to continue follow his older brother, Amit, who was a deputy commander of a company in Golani.
To continue down brother's path
"I wanted him to continue along my path in Golani, he still wasn't sure whether he wanted to become an officer," said Amit.
Ariel left behind two older brothers and his parents.
Dozens of family members and friends arrived at the bereaved family's home since news of the incident was released.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, civilians spotted the flipped over “Hummer” on the road near Har Yatir in south Mount Hebron. They summoned rescue teams, and Magen David Adom paramedics arrived at the scene to treat the wounded.
About a year ago Corporal Bassam el-Saraiyah, 20, was killed when a “Hummer” flipped over during a routine patrol in the Faran River area. The investigation into the accident showed the vehicle apparently flipped over due to bad road conditions.
In April 2005 four IDF troops were wounded when a “Hummer” flipped over on the road connecting Kibbutz Misgav and Tel-Chai in the north, amd in February 2004 two Givati Brigade soldiers were killed when an armored vehicle crushed a “Hummer” jeep that sank in the mud during a military exercise in the Golan Heights.
Anat Bershkovsky contributed to the report
