Man in intensive care after motorcyclist attacks him with helmet on Tel Aviv highway

A motorcyclist hit a driver several times on the head with his helmet in an incident of road rage on Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway on Monday evening, with the final blow apparently briefly knocking the victim unconscious.

Police said Tuesday morning that the man’s situation had deteriorated overnight and he was hospitalized in intensive care.

According to the Ynet news site, the 50-year-old man is suffering from skull fractures and intracranial bleeding.

Police said a 37-year-old Tel Aviv resident was arrested and will appear at Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court for a custody hearing later in the day.

The attack was filmed by a woman whose office overlooked the scene.

At around 6 p.m., there was an incident between a car and a motorbike on the highway, close to the Arlozorov interchange, which developed into a verbal argument.

תיעוד מנתיבי איילון: רוכב אופנוע נצפה חובט מספר פעמים עם הקסדה בראשו של אדם אחר ומפיל אותו לקרקע. לאחר מכן שב וחבט בו פעמים נוספות. נהגים שחלפו בכביש עצרו וניסו לסייע לאדם שהותקף והתקבצו סביבו. החשוד נעצר@daniel_elazar pic.twitter.com/bhhuIfJBgs

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 7, 2022

In the video, which does not capture the start of the confrontation, the driver has his hand on the motorcyclist as the two walk.

The motorcyclist initially hit the man twice with his helmet — with the third blow, in which he threw the helmet at the man, the victim fell to the ground.

Bystanders stepped in to help the victim. The attacker also appeared to be trying to attend to him.

According to police, the victim took himself to Ichilov Hospital where his condition was initially defined as mild. However, his condition deteriorated overnight.