French pair on trial for Israel hit-and-run death

Driver Eric Roubi could be jailed 10 years and fined $187,000, passenger faces fine alone in death of Lee Zeitouni

Lee Zeitouni (photo credit: Courtesy)
Lee Zeitouni (photo credit: Courtesy)

PARIS — Two Frenchmen were due to stand trial on Thursday for a hit-and-run road accident in Tel Aviv that killed a young Israeli woman and sparked outrage in Israel after the pair fled to France.

Eric Roubi, who has confessed to being behind the wheel at the time of the 2011 tragedy, faces charges of aggravated manslaughter and not providing aid to a person in distress.

He could be jailed for 10 years and fined 150,000 euros ($187,000) if convicted.

The passenger, Claude Khayat, stands accused of the lesser charge of not providing aid to a person in distress and faces a possible 75,000 euro fine.

They are accused of causing the death of Lee Zeitouni, a 25-year-old pilates instructor who was crossing the road to get to work on the morning of September 16, 2011, when she was hit by the 4X4 driven by Robic.

Witnesses said the car was travelling at approximately 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in a zone where the maximum speed limit was half that.

The two men had just left a nightclub where they had consumed alcohol, according to witnesses.

They did not stop after the accident and immediately fled to France, prompting a huge outcry in Israel.

Pressure mounted on France to return the men to Israel to face trial, but France does not extradite its citizens outside the European Union.

Then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy vowed the family would get justice if a trial took place in France but stood firm against extradition, sparking a diplomatic spat with Tel Aviv.

The victim’s family, who traveled to France for the trial, would have preferred it to have taken place in Israel, their lawyer said.

“But this is better than nothing and they have arrived with confidence,” added the lawyer, Gilles-William Goldnadel.

Robic’s lawyer declined to comment but Regis Meliodon, a lawyer for Khayat, said his client “was looking forward to this moment, to offer explanations and apologize to the family.”

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