Passenger in Netanya hit-and-run kept in custody as new details emerge about main suspect

The passenger in a car that police say ran over and killed three pedestrians in Netanya Saturday night will be held in custody five more days, the magistrate’s court in Rishon Letzion ruled Saturday night.

Police are still searching for the main suspect who they say drove his vehicle into a crosswalk, slamming into three women from the same family and killing them.

Yochai Glicksman, 26, turned himself into the police after the crash. He was remanded for five days under suspicion of lying under oath and interfering in the investigation.

The three women who died Friday evening were all members of a single family: Alexandra Rubinov, 67, from Netanya, and Svetlana and Shoshana Yegudiev, 56 and 25 respectively, a mother and daughter who were residents of Dimona visiting their relative in Netanya for the weekend.

According to eyewitness reports, the vehicle collided with the women while driving at a rapid speed and hurled their bodies to the sides of the road. Paramedics who arrived on the scene attempted to resuscitate the victims, but were forced to announce them dead from multiple injuries.

A police source told Channel 10 that the vehicle kept on driving after hitting the women, coming to a stop 500 meters after the point of the collision where the driver and a passenger got out and ran away.

The driver of the car is believed to be Shushan Baraby, 35, a known crime figure in the seaside city. Police fear he may try to flee the country to avoid prosecution.

According to Ynet news, Glicksman’s wife told police that Baraby and a second person came to Glicksman’s house on Friday night and the three of them left “to help a friend whose wife was in the hospital,” according to her testimony. A short while later he called her to say he had run somebody over.

According to Maariv, Glicksman has a prior police record for property theft and drug-related offenses. He originally told police he had been the driver but changed the story when told how much jail time he could face.

Meanwhile, new details have emerged about Baraby’s past. According to Ynet, he allegedly threatened the life of Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg and sometime after that received public land slated for urban renewal, on which he built a small kiosk and meat restaurant.

According to the report, Baraby ran a watermelon stand on the land 10 years ago, but the city refused to give him a permit and tore down the stand.

After threatening the life of Feirberg, he received a permit to use the land to sell watermelons, and in the course of time converted the stand into a small market, lotto stop and barbecue joint, despite not having a permit for the businesses.

City hall officials told the news outlet they are seeking to regain control of the piece of land after the hit and run, which occurred near the kiosk.

On Saturday, Rudi Yegudiev, the son and brother of two of the women killed, threatened Baraby and called on him to turn himself into authorities.

“I call on the driver who ran them over to not be a rabbit in hiding but to turn himself in. If not, I’ll come to him,” said Yegudiev.

Authorities said Saturday that they have not ruled out the possibility that Baraby was driving while under the influence of drugs.

However, Hezi Reuben, Baraby’s cousin, told Walla News that his cousin didn’t commit the crime and that the police simply have a grudge against him. “He’ll never return and the police will never find him,” said Reuben. “The police destroy families; this is a publicity stunt. For the past five years he has not been involved in any crime.”