Spanish journalist charged with manslaughter over fatal Jerusalem hit-and-run
Julio de la Guardia is suspected of killing Chaim Tukachinsky, 31, last month while driving under the influence of alcohol
Prosecutors on Sunday charged Spanish journalist Julio de la Guardia with manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol in the killing of a pedestrian in a Jerusalem hit-and-run last month.
The indictment also charges that de la Guardia left the scene of the accident, ran a red light, and was driving over the speed limit.
Prosecutors requested de la Guardia be held in custody until the end of legal proceedings against him.
Chaim Tukachinsky, 31, an ultra-Orthodox pianist, composer, and conductor, was killed late last month at central Jerusalem’s Paris Square while walking back from the Western Wall on the first night of the Sukkot holiday.
The suspect drove away and was arrested around an hour later. He was found to have a blood alcohol count three times the legal amount.
De la Guardia worked as a foreign correspondent in Israel for many years for a series of Spanish outlets. He was kicked out of Israel in 2011 after a domestic dispute, Channel 10 news reported, citing Foreign Ministry officials.
It was not immediately clear why de la Guardia, 51,was issued a new work visa and allowed to return to Israel.
During the investigation into the incident, the TV report said, it was discovered that de la Guardia also worked for a Spanish-language Iranian TV company under an assumed name. This employment was for a period of a few months, The Times of Israel has learned.
De la Guardia told police he was being harassed by three Palestinians on motorbikes who were following his car, in which he had his three dogs, and that they were trying to corner him; he said he was trying to get away from them when the incident occurred.
He also said he stopped the car a short distance from the accident, not knowing exactly what had happened, but left quickly when locals approached him and he feared they would attack him. He later approached a police patrol vehicle with its lights flashing, and told the officers it was likely him that they were looking for.
Tukachinsky, formerly a resident of Kiryat Motzkin, had left his ultra-Orthodox yeshiva at the age of 18 in favor of attending a music academy in Jerusalem, where he excelled in his undergraduate and graduate degrees.
“I never understood why people raise an eyebrow when they look at me, a Haredi person playing piano,” he told the Ynet site in 2015. “For me, I’ve always been Haredi and always played piano. I strayed from the path [set for me] and I left my studies in the higher institutions of yeshiva to be a professional pianist.”
The Times of Israel Community.