Israeli killed in Bolivia ATV accident named as Tal Bar

23-year-old had planned post-army trip since high school and had worked hard for a year to save up for it, his mother says

A 23-year-old Israel who was killed in Bolivia on Saturday when the all-terrain vehicle in which he was traveling rolled over into a ravine was named Monday as Tal Bar from Kiryat Bialik, near Haifa, in northern Israel.

While some reports said Bar’s vehicle had been involved in a crash with a car, his mother said his traveling companions were at a loss to explain why his ATV had gone over the side of a cliff on a mountain they were ascending in convoy.

The mother, Livnat Bar, said she had many worries about her son’s months-long trip, but that a car accident wasn’t one of them, as Bar was an excellent driver.

Bar had worked hard after finishing his army service, she said, running a sandwich bar in nearby Kiryat Haim to earn money for his trip to Latin America.

He was touring with several childhood friends based on a plan they had hatched while still in high school, and had already visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

טל בר בן 23 הוא הצעיר שנהרג בתאונת טרקטורון בבוליביה. הוא התהפך לאחר התנגשות עם רכב (אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/rjrp7tmKxn

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 8, 2018

He reached Bolivia early in the morning on the day he died.

“He was a good boy, a happy boy, who loved life,” said Livnat Bar. “I want him to be remembered for his joie de vivre, his good heart.”

South America is a popular destination for young Israeli backpackers after their discharge from military service.

As Bolivia canceled diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009, calling its treatment of Palestinians “a genocide,” Israel’s embassy in Peru has been working to return Bar’s body home for burial.