Suspect in deadly Friday hit-and-run turns himself in

A 24-year-old man suspected in a deadly hit-and-run near Ashkelon turned himself in to police Sunday morning.

The accident took place in the fields outside Berekhya, which lies about four kilometers east of Ashkelon, on Friday afternoon.

Yigal Sa’adon, a 50-year-old Berekhya resident and father of five, was riding his electric bicycle on a path through the agricultural fields when the suspect, allegedly driving an all-terrain vehicle, plowed into him.

Both men were hurt in the accident. Medics were forced to pronounce Sa’adon’s death at the site.

In a statement Sunday, the suspect’s attorney denied he was driving an ATV — a vehicle that has a relatively low speed limit to prevent such accidents — and said the accident was “not a hit-and-run.”

“He was riding a motorcycle on the dunes, and suddenly was hit by an electric bicycle rider. He thought an animal had run into him,” the attorney said. “He was taken to a hospital wounded, bruised and not fully conscious. When he came to and slowly realized what had happened, he understood he had been involved in an accident. He called us and asked to turn himself in to the police immediately.”

The suspect arrived with two attorneys at the Ashkelon police station Sunday morning and was detained for questioning.

Sa’adon’s family members seemed to reject the suspect’s claims, telling the Ynet news site that Yigal Sa’adon “had ridden that path lots of times. He never went wild on the roads. The ATV driver just came up behind and ran him over like he was air.”

The accident is being investigated by traffic authorities.