Soldier dies, dozens hurt as bus flips on West Bank road
Victim named as Stav Partush, 19; her father, a volunteer fireman, had arrived on the scene to evacuate the wounded
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An Israeli bus carrying IDF soldiers overturned in the West Bank on Thursday, killing a female soldier and injuring at least 40 other passengers, several seriously.
Magen David Adom paramedics treated the injured at site. They said 41 passengers were hurt, one seriously, three moderately and the remainder suffered minor injuries.
The woman soldier pronounced dead at the scene was later named as Stav Partush, aged 19, from Ma’ale Adumim. She was set to be buried at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Her father, a volunteer fireman, had arrived at the scene of the crash to evacuate the wounded, not knowing his daughter was killed, Channel 2 reported.
The seriously injured passenger was airlifted by helicopter to Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva. The three moderately injured and seven of the lightly injured passengers were airlifted to Tel Hashomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv. The remainder were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Jerusalem.
Emergency responders at the scene said several passengers were trapped in the bus after it flipped into a ditch by the roadside near the West Bank settlement of Rimonim, north of Ramallah.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed later on Thursday that the private bus was shuttling soldiers from an army base to Jerusalem when it flipped over.
The collision involved a second vehicle, police said.
#UPDATE (Judea area #MCI): @Mdais #paramedics treating about 50 pp, including: 1 critical (trapped), 3 severe. pic.twitter.com/cDgbCSzHZn
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) November 26, 2015
It was not immediately clear what led to the crash, which occurred on a winding road running through mountainous areas between Ramallah and the Jordan Valley.
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The bus driver blamed a Palestinian driving wildly on the road toward him, but initial investigation ruled out that assertion, Army Radio reported on Thursday afternoon. The report said the initial probe pointed “with a high degree of certainty” to reckless driving by the bus driver, and said he had approached a sharp curve at a speed of some 110 kilometers per hour (approximately 68 mph) and lost control of the vehicle.
The Times of Israel Community.