Manslaughter charge for Palestinian hit and run driver changed to murder

Avraham Hasano, 54, was struck by vehicle when he emerged from his car, which had been pelted by rocks; Indictment amended after pressure from family

A Palestinian truck driver suspected of running over and killing an Israeli man last year as part of the ongoing wave of terror attacks will be tried for murder, after military prosecutors overturned a previous manslaughter indictment and refiled with the more serious charge.

Shaban Titi was arrested by the Shin Bet early last month, more than five months after the October 21 attack that killed Avraham Hasano on a West Bank road. The suspect, a resident of the West Bank village of Dahariya, had claimed he ran over Hasano by accident, fleeing the scene out of fear.

Last week, Titi was charged with manslaughter, having been accused of causing Hasano’s death by accident. In the indictment, Titi was said to have run over Hasano, after which he dragged him for 37 meters (121 feet), before driving away and leaving the severely injured Israeli on the road.

But Hasano’s family reacted angrily to the reduced charge and immediately filed a petition to change the indictment to a murder charge.

The IDF announced Tuesday that it has accepted the petition and would be trying Titi for murder.

“After a further in-depth review of the material , the military prosecutor has decided to accept the petition of the family and to amend the indictment,” a statement from the IDF spokesman read.

Images from the scene showed Hasano emerging from his car brandishing a large wooden club after his vehicle was pelted with rocks by Palestinians near Hebron. He approached the truck, waving the club, and was run over. He died at the scene.

Avraham Hasano is hit by a truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Hasano had gotten out from his car after it was it by Palestinian ston throwers. He was run over by the truck and later died (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi) — Avraham Hasano is hit by a truck driven by a Palestinian man at Fawar junction near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Hasano had gotten out from his car after it was it by Palestinian ston throwers. He was run over by the truck and later died. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Titi said he attempted to avoid hitting Hasano but did not have enough time to swerve out of the way. Shortly after the incident, he called his Israeli employer to report that he had run someone over.

After the incident, Titi turned himself in to Palestinian police, claiming he had not intended to kill the 54-year-old Israeli father of seven from Kiryat Arba. He had previously been held at the Dahariya police station and then released by the Palestinian Authority being arrested by Israeli forces “following extensive intelligence activity,” the Shin Bet said in a statement last month.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.