Hit-and-run: Truck kills 90-year-old man

Holocaust survivor hit by truck while walking in Netanya; driver arrested after returning to scene three hours later

Raanan Ben-Zur|Published: 04.03.13 , 10:05

A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor was killed Wednesday morning when he was run over by a truck at the corner of Weizmann and Harav Kook streets in Herzliya.

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Magen David Adom paramedics pronounced Yosef Rubinstein dead at the scene. The truck driver, 61, returned to the scene of the accident three hours later and was taken into police custody.

הצומת שבו אירעה התאונה (צילום: עידו ארז)

Intersection where accident took place (Photo: Ido Erez)

Witnesses told police that the driver fled the scene after hitting the pedestrian. Traffic Police has launched an investigation into the accident. One of the investigators said Rubinstein was in a crosswalk when he was hit.

Rubinstein's granddaughter, Efrat Brudt, told Ynet: "My grandfather was a sound minded, happy man who kept our family together. This morning he went out for his walk and was hit by a truck that fled the scene."

Rubinstein lost his wife three years ago and has been living alone ever since. According to Brudt, "he immigrated to Israel in '48 from Poland and fought in the War of Independence ."

Referring to the accident, the victim's granddaughter added that her grandfather "was a responsible person and I don’t think it's possible that he ran to the road or crossed at a red light. There's no way he was responsible for the accident."

As for the driver, Brudt said: "All I know is that he ran away. He should have stopped and helped my grandfather. I'm trying not to judge him now. Who am I to judge him without really knowing what happened?"

Rubinstein is survived by two children and six grandchildren.

Shortly after the incident in Herzliya, an 80-year-old woman was severely injured when a car hit her as she was walking along Jabotinsky Street in Netanya. MDA paramedics evacuated the woman to Laniado Hospital in the city.

On Tuesday two people were injured when their tractor overturned in Moshav Noga, near Kiryat Gat. One of the men sustained serious injuries, while the other was moderately wounded. They were both evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.