Man killed, another injured in head-on collision in the north

A man was killed and another was moderately injured when their two cars collided head-on in the north of the country early Sunday morning.

The crash happened on Route 90 between Kibbutz Afikim and Kibbutz Ashdot Ya’akov, south of the Sea of Galilee, Israel Police said in a statement.

The driver of one car, 39, was declared dead at the scene by paramedics. He was identified by the Israel Defense Forces as Warrant Officer Avishai Biton, 39, who served in the military rabbinate. The driver of the other vehicle, 18, suffered stomach injuries and was taken to Poriya Hospital in Tiberias in moderate condition.

Biton, from the community of Avivim on the border with Lebanon, was scheduled to be buried at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Meron cemetery in northern Israel, the army said.

He was posthumously promoted to warrant officer from the rank of command sergeant major.

The road between Afikim and Ashdot Ya’akov was closed to traffic as emergency services responded to the crash.

Police traffic inspectors arrived at the location to investigate the cause of the collision.

It was the eighth death on Route 90 since the beginning of the year, Ynet reported.

At around 470 kilometers (300 miles), Route 90 is the longest road in the country, stretching from the northern border with Lebanon down to the port city of Eilat in Israel’s southernmost tip.