Fatal West Bank hit-and-run may have been traffic accident

Driver reportedly says he too was pelted with rocks, panicked after hitting victim Avraham Hasano, and fled the scene

Avraham Hasano carries a large stick and walks toward an approaching truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Hasano had gotten out from his car after it was it by Palestinian stone throwers. He was run over by the truck and later died (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)
Avraham Hasano carries a large stick and walks toward an approaching truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Hasano had gotten out from his car after it was it by Palestinian stone throwers. He was run over by the truck and later died (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Israeli officials are looking at the possibility that an Israeli civilian who was killed after being run over by a Palestinian truck in the West Bank may have been the victim of a road accident and not a deliberate car-ramming attack, the Hebrew-language Haaretz website reported on Wednesday.

According to details given to security officials, the Palestinian driver of the truck that hit Avraham Hasano, 54, on Tuesday near the West Bank city of Hebron, was trying to evade stone-throwing Palestinian protesters just before the fatal collision.

Hasano had stopped his car after it was hit by rocks thrown by Palestinians who were targeting passing vehicles. He then got out of his car carrying a large wooden stick. As he moved into the road he was hit by the truck.

The incident was recorded in a series of photos shot by a local photographer. In one picture, as the truck near Hasano, a rock can be seen hurtling through the air.

Avraham Hasano swings a large stick at an approaching truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Hasano had gotten out from his car after it was it by Palestinian ston throwers, He was run over by the truck and later died (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)
Avraham Hasano swings a large stick at an approaching truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

The driver initially fled the scene, but later turned himself in to Palestinian security forces, claiming he had not intended to hit Hasano, and that the incident was an accident.

He said he attempted to avoid hitting Hasano but did not have enough time to swerve out of the way. He then left the scene out of fear.

According to the report, shortly after the incident, the driver called his Israeli employer to report that he had run someone over. He later turned himself in to Palestinian police in the town of Dahariya, where he gave his version of events.

Avraham Hasano (Channel 2 screenshot)
Avraham Hasano (Channel 2 screenshot)

Israeli officials were being updated with the details of the investigation into the case, according to the paper. The source said Israeli officials are under the impression it was an accident and not a deliberate car-ramming attack and the driver has not been transferred to the Shin Bet general security services for questioning by Israeli officers.

In an interview with Army Radio, Hasano’s widow, Ruti, said she was convinced it was a deliberate attack.

Hasano, a father of seven from the settlement of Kiryat Arba, was passing through the Fawar junction outside Hebron when his car was pelted by rocks.

Photos of the collision published on Tuesday show Hasano approaching the oncoming truck while carrying the stick. He may have been seeking to confront the stone throwers.

The truck does appear to swerve to its left to some degree before Hasano is hit and goes under the wheels. While Hasano initially appears to be facing the vehicle’s center, he is on the vehicle’s right when hit.

“You can so clearly see it was not an accident, it is so clear, picture after picture, like film,” Ruti Hasano said of the photographs during the radio interview.

MDA paramedics attempted to resuscitate Hasano in preparation for evacuation by helicopter, but he died at the scene.

Hasano’s funeral was held late Tuesday in Hebron, and was attended by hundreds of people.

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