Six killed, a dozen injured in Haifa crash

Six people were killed and some 12 were injured, three seriously, when a large truck collided with cars and pedestrians between Haifa and Nesher in northern Israel.

Medical teams administered first aid to the injured and evacuated them to hospital. Several cars caught fire in the collision, but the blazes were put out by firefighters.

Police initially investigated whether the incident could have been a deliberate attack on Israelis, but later assessments pointed at a failure in the truck’s brakes.

“At this moment in time we don’t believe it was a terror attack,” Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told The Times of Israel. “We strongly believe it was an accident based on findings at the scene and eyewitnesses.”

The Bedouin driver of the truck was questioned in order to ascertain whether it was a deliberate attack. He was lightly hurt in the collision.

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Recent years have seen several incidents during which Palestinians attacked Israelis with heavy vehicles, most famously in a series of backhoe attacks in Jerusalem in 2008.

The speeding truck ran a traffic light and struck cars at and near the light. After the first impact, the truck traveled an additional 200 meters, hitting cars and passersby before coming to a stop, the report said.

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav called the scene “horrific” and said that the truck had hit a traffic light and caused it to fall on nearby cars, “increasing the casualties and the damage.”