3 injured as bulldozer is knocked off truck on main highway

Three people were injured Monday after a bulldozer was knocked off the back of a truck as the transporting vehicle drove under an overpass on Route 1, a major intercity highway.

The incident came days after a truck driver was crushed to death when the crane on the back of his vehicle hit an overpass, causing it to collapse on him.

According to Magen David Adom ambulance service the three, who were driving in another car on the road as the machinery fell off, were lightly injured, treated at the scene, and then taken to the hospital.

Police said in a statement that the incident took place at the Lod interchange on Route 1 and that the highway between the junction and the Shafirim Interchange was briefly closed.

Route 1 is major artery connecting the capital Jerusalem with Tel Aviv on the coast.

Last Monday night, truck driver Ali Hai Tadri, 58, from Holon, was killed when a crane he was transporting hit an overpass on Route 4.

Netivei Israel – National Transport Infrastructure Company said that the bridge over Route 4 was checked five months ago and found to be safe. The company said a partially raised crane on the back of the moving truck hit the concrete pedestrian bridge as the vehicle passed underneath, causing the collapse. The Elhanan bridge, a pedestrian walkway linking the Tel Aviv suburb towns of Bnei Brak and Givat Shmuel, appeared to be empty at the time.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.