40-year-old women killed in suspected hit-and-run in northern Israel

A 40-year-old woman was killed in a suspected hit-and-run in northern Israel on Friday after the driver apparently left her to die under the wheels of the vehicle, police and medics said.

According to police, the driver hit the woman at 4:30 in the morning in Tirat Carmel, a suburb of Haifa, and then abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene.

The woman was found trapped underneath the vehicle. Magen David Adom paramedics declared her dead at the scene following resuscitation efforts.

Police caught the suspect a few minutes later after identifying him as the car owner.

Neither the driver nor the victim were immediately identified.

The incident comes days after large protests erupted in Tel Aviv this week criticizing authorities for failing to prosecute a suspect in a hit-and-run that killed 4-year-old Rafael Adana in May.

Or Yarok, a traffic safety organization, said in a statement following the protests that the government needs to crack down on hit-and-runs.

“There should be no forgiveness for a hit-and-run. The State of Israel must declare war on drivers who hit someone and flee the scene without providing help,” the organization said.

According to the National Road Safety Authority, 241 people have been killed in road accidents in Israel since the beginning of 2023.