Mohamed Algabor, a 26-year-old resident of Rahat, was sentenced to five years in jail on Sunday, more than three years after he caused a traffic accident in the Arava Junction that claimed the lives of five family members.
The Beersheva Magistrate's Court also sentenced Algabor to a year's probation and suspended his driver's license for 20 years.
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The judge ruled that Algabor's negligence caused the death of the Dahan family members, but decided not to rule compensation for the family.
Scene of the accident, February 2010 (Photo: Herzl Yosef)
"Any monetary sum named in the sentence will demean the victims," the judge wrote.
According to the indictment, Algabor was driving a truck at 93 kmh (about 58 mph), more than the 80 kmh (50 mph) speed limit, on a dangerous road, which inclined sharply ahead of a right turn, with a deep ravine to the side.
He ignored the road signs, said the indictment, and drove without taking the necessary precautions to prevent the deadly accident.
A Dahan family relative who attended the court session yelled toward the truck driver's attorney: "Be ready for the appeal, we'll not agree to a short sentence. In a few years he'll walk free. We'll not accept that they're not with us anymore, he that killed them is sitting here alive and well, and came out of the accident without a scratch."
Liron Eliezer, a relative of the family who was married the day of the accident, said at the outset of the session: "I'm still disappointed. We expected him to get the maximum penalty for manslaughter, which is 15 years. I guess in Israel they're still not ready for such penalties."
Judge David Landsman said in the debate that "this was a horrible accident, in which the defendant pled not-guilty. To determine the penalty, one must remember that the defendant drove a large, heavy truck which merits more caution."
(Photo: Herzl Yosef)
The judge added: "On the other hand, we've heard the driver, who did not mean for the accident to happen and didn't want it. He feels regret that he caused it and I'm of the opinion that it is a negligent accident caused by an average driver. It's clear that the court will rule a heavy sentence and will not treat the victims' relatives' suffering lightly."
The judge dismissed the defendant's claims that an object fell on his head and caused him to veer off course. The judge also dismissed the claim that the truck's brakes malfunctioned.
The judge granted the defendant's attorney request for a delay of his client's imprisonment to prepare an appeal, and ruled that the sentence will begin on September 1.
The victims of the accident were Lior Dahan, 30, his mother Ruth Dahan, 57, his wife Tali, 33, his sister Sarit Cohen, 19, and five-month old Shilat. Algabor himself was only lightly injured.
The Dahan family was driving to a wedding in northern Israel, but the bride and groom were not told of the tragedy and the wedding went on as planned.
The driver, who got a truck driver's license on 2008, has four prior convictions.
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