Driver charged with reckless homicide for killing boy, 8, on Yom Kippur
Amir Abu Laben also indicted for drug trafficking, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit a crime in death of Itay Margi in Tel Aviv
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Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a driver with reckless homicide for running over and killing an 8-year-old boy on Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv.
Amir Abu Laben, 21, was indicted in the Tel Aviv District Court. He will also face charges of drug trafficking, possession of a dangerous narcotic, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Abu Laben is suspected of hitting Itay Margi as the boy crossed Tel Aviv’s Namir Road on October 9. Margi, who was wearing a helmet, was hit at a pedestrian crossing on the normally busy road, which was almost completely empty due to Israeli taboos against driving on the High Holy Day.
The defendant has been under house arrest at his home in Ramle since October 20.
Prosecutors charged that “the child’s death was the result of Abu Laben’s actions, his driving the car recklessly and carelessly and with disregard for human life,” speeding on Yom Kippur when he was well aware that pedestrians and cyclists would also be on the road.
In requesting an extension of his house arrest, prosecutors said Abu Laben’s reckless and irresponsible behavior indicate “the great danger he poses to public safety.”
According to the indictment, on the day of the accident Abu Laben obtained cocaine and LSD with the intention of selling them in the Tel Aviv area. After completing four sales in Ramat Gan, Petah Tikva and Tel Aviv, he exceeded the speed limit along Namir Road, and, without regard for the safety of others, entered the junction, hitting Margi.
In the moments after the collision, as Margi lay bleeding on the ground, Abu Laben threw the remaining drugs he had in his possession into the bushes on the side of the road, the indictment alleged. Police later found 1.6 grams of cocaine in the shrubs, which they believe was for distribution rather than personal use, as Abu Laben claimed. His fingerprints were reportedly found on the package.
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, is marked by fasting and intense prayer by religious Jews.
Secular Israelis, especially children, are known to take advantage of the dearth of cars on the roads and highways on the somber holiday, filling the streets with bicycles.
The Times of Israel Community.