Driver arrested for suspected manslaughter after family of 8 killed

Suspect in head-on collision near the Dead Sea reportedly not cooperating with investigators; victims named as Atar family from Psagot settlement

The Atar family, killed in a car crash near the Dead Sea on October 30, 2018. (Courtesy)
The Atar family, killed in a car crash near the Dead Sea on October 30, 2018. (Courtesy)

The driver of a car involved in a deadly head-on collision near the Dead Sea earlier Tuesday in which eight members of the same family were killed has been arrested for suspected manslaughter.

News of the driver’s arrest came as the names of the victims of the crash on Route 90 were released. They were named as Yariv Atar, 45, and his wife Shoshi, 47, and their children Yaakov Yisrael, 12, Ateret, 11, Ayelet, 9, Moriah, 7, Yedid, 5, and Avigail, 3.

The family lived in the West Bank settlement of Psagot.

The driver of the second vehicle was with two other people in the car who suffered moderate and light injuries and were taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

Hebrew media quoted police saying the suspect, 52, was not cooperating with investigators. He will be brought before a court in Beersheba Wednesday for a hearing on the extension of his remand, police said.

“The driver is bruised, injured, and confused. He was questioned while his daughter was anesthetized and breathing through a ventilator. At this stage it isn’t clear who is to blame for the accident. He does not remember exactly what happen and we hope the police will investigate quickly,” his lawyers were quoted saying by Channel 10 news.

Immediately following the crash, the driver reportedly said, “I killed them, I’m not driving anymore.”

Emergency workers from ZAKA at the scene of a deadly head-on collision on Route 90 near the Dead Sea on October 30, 2018. (ZAKA)

Police did not explicitly state what caused the crash, which earlier was met with calls to bolster safety measures on the stretch of Route 90, which has seen other deadly crashes in the past.

Investigators believe the driver of the SUV may have strayed into the opposite lane, according to Hebrew media reports.

“This road has been an ongoing danger for many years and even if human or technical factors influence the strength of the accident, in the end we must see how to prevent it,” Zionist Union MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin said.

She called for a divider to be installed separating traffic on Route 90, one of the deadliest highways in the country, and urged Transportation Minister Israel Katz to advance a plan for installing a barrier.

The Transportation Ministry hit back that the accident was being exploited for political ends.

“There are sources trying to take advantage of this terrible disaster in order to spread political libel and accuse the government of baseless allegations,” Hebrew media reports quoted it saying.

Earlier this month, two parents and their 10-month-old baby were killed in head-on collision with a bus on the same highway in the same area.

Scene of deadly crash on Route 90 near the Dead Sea, October 30, 2018. (Courtesy MDA)

The Transportation Ministry told Hebrew media that Tuesday’s crash was the deadliest to ever take place on the stretch of road.

A representative for the company maintaining the road told the Ynet news site work was recently done to expand the shoulders and repaint lines.

The accident came as hundreds of thousands of Israelis were enjoying a day off for local elections taking place across the country.

According to an initial account, the minivan carrying the Atar family ignited following the accident and some of the dead were killed in the blaze, according to rescuers.

By the time firefighters managed to extinguish the flaming car, the trapped passengers had died.

Three people in the second vehicle suffered moderate and light injuries and were taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

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