Mother and baby die in collision between car and truck

A woman in her 40s and her baby, who was reportedly just several months old, died Thursday when their car was hit by a truck on Route 7.

Two other occupants of the vehicle were injured in the accident, which occurred near the Beit Rabban Interchange, near Gadera in the central region of the country.

The father of the baby, in his 40s, was left in serious condition with head injuries and a second daughter, 3, was lightly injured.

Magen David Adom paramedics declared the mother and baby dead at the scene and took the injured man and child to Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot.

Police opened an investigation into the accident.

An initial probe found that the truck hit the car from behind as it was parked at the side of the highway, Channel 13 reported.

Due to the incident, the exit for Route 7 through the Gadera Interchange to Route 40, a major north-south highway, was blocked and police were directing traffic to other routes.