3-year-old killed by car outside playground in southern Israel

Childrens’ safety organization says 60 children have been killed during Passover holiday in past 10 years

By ToI Staff 3 April 2021, 7:10 am

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First responders at the scene of an accident in southern Israel that killed a 3-year-old boy, April 2, 2021. (Courtesy/Magen David Adom)

A 3-year-old boy was run over and killed in southern Israel on Friday.

Shila Saad, from the town of Shokeda in the northern Negev, was hit by a car in the nearby community of Kfar Maimon.

Magen David Adom medics carried out resuscitation efforts and evacuated him to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he was declared deceased.

An initial investigation found the child had been on a playground with friends and was waiting for his father to pick him up.

He saw his father’s vehicle approaching, ran around a protective fence and strayed into the street, where he was hit by another vehicle.

The driver of the other vehicle was a 30-year-old resident of the town. He was questioned by police, the Ynet news site reported.

A medic who arrived on the scene said, “The child was lying in the street, unconscious and suffering from a severe multi-system injury. He was without a pulse and not breathing. We put him in a mobile intensive care unit while carrying out resuscitation treatments and evacuated him to the hospital in critical condition.”

A children’s safety organization said that in the past decade, 60 children have died of injuries during the Passover holiday, 37% of whom perished in road accidents.