Man arrested for assaulting woman who honked at him
Police detain suspect as he tries to flee Israel following road rage incident in Afula; thought to have attacked second female driver as well
Police on Friday arrested a man suspected of assaulting a woman who honked at him as he drove in Afula.
The 27-year-old suspect, a resident of the northern working class city, was apprehended at Ben Gurion International Airport as he tried to flee the country. His name was not released for publication.
Video of the road rage incident appeared to show the suspect attacking the woman in the middle of traffic.
The victim, 32-year-old Tova Orlero from Nazareth Illit, told the Ynet news site she was driving to pick up her children from school when her car was blocked by another vehicle.
“I gave a little honk. I hadn’t even finished honking and suddenly someone was kicking my car and the windows,” she said. “He began hitting my car with his hands and feet. He yelled ‘you won’t honk at me again in your life.'”
Orlero said she tried to lock the door but the assailant entered from the passenger side.
“Then he started punching me in the head and nose,” Orlero said. “I was all bloody. [For] 10 minutes he just hit me. I thought I would die. He wanted to kill me”
ברחוב שרת בעפולה הותקפה נהגת(31 עפולה) על ידי חשוד ככל הנראה בעקבות ויכוח על הדרך ???? הפצועה פונתה לאחר שנפצעה במצב קל מחבלות בפנייה לטיפול בבי"ח העמק בעפולה.
שוטרי משטרת ישראל שהוזנקו למקום אספו ממצאים ופתחו בחקירת הארוע. pic.twitter.com/U4tS1bmqvB
— |فرات نصار|פוראת נסאר|FURAT NASSAR (@nassar_furat) June 29, 2018
She said the suspect then fled when passersby called the police.
“I thought it was a terror attack. I didn’t believe something like this can happen in the middle of Afula. I was left with fractures in my nose and next I’m supposed to undergo surgery for my nose,” Orlero said.
Orlero was on the phone with her husband at the time of the assault and she can be heard screaming “he beat me” in a recording of the call released Saturday by Channel 10.
According to Hebrew media reports, the suspect also attacked another woman earlier in the day following a minor car accident involving their vehicles.
The Times of Israel Community.