Suspected drunk driver who killed boy expresses ‘deep regret’

The suspect in an alleged drunk-driving killing of a 13-year-old boy expressed regret for the first time on Sunday, after a judge released him to house arrest for three weeks and after he fired and replaced his lawyer.

“I express deep, deep regret for the incident. It is a very unfortunate incident,” said Eli Bar Zakai, 23, who is accused in the killing of 13-year-old Eylon Shalev-Amsalem on July 27, after a week in which he denied blame. “My heart goes out to the dear family and parents. I hope that God will give them strength, and that, God willing, they won’t know any more sorrow.”

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court ordered Bar Zakai placed under house arrest until August 27, by which time prosecutors will try to have the charges against him substantiated.

Bar Zakai made the remark after the court ruling, standing alongside his new attorney, Uri Keinan, who was appointed Sunday instead of Eylon Oron. Keinan is reportedly respected by law enforcement officials, which could help his client in light of the widespread media coverage of the case.

Since his arrest, Bar Zakai had refused to cooperate with investigators and stayed silent even as police confronted him with a good friend who charged: “You drank a whole glass of vodka neat before you left.”

Shalev-Amsalem and a friend had been waiting to cross the street at the intersection of Ibn Gabirol and Shai Agnon streets in northern Tel Aviv when Bar Zakai, traveling at high speed, lost control of his vehicle, mounted the sidewalk and plowed into the two boys.

Shalev-Amsalem was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared him dead two hours after his arrival. The second teen suffered moderate injuries to his upper body and taken to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital.

Police accuse Bar Zakai of being drunk at the time of the accident. His previous lawyer denied that claim and said he had lost control of the vehicle because he was driving too fast and the road was wet.

Shalev-Amsalem’s parents assailed Bar Zakai on Sunday, before the apology was issued, calling him a “monster” for denying blame.

“Not only did the driver drink at home and continue at high speed on the way to partying instead of exiting the vehicle and providing help — he even chose to talk on the phone and receive tips about evidence tampering, refused to undergo checks, chose to stay silent in a confrontation and maintained the shameful lie that there was water on the road,” Dikla Shalev-Amsalem said as she and her husband visited their son’s grave.

The victim’s father, Kobi, addressed his son and said: “The monster who took your life continues to live in lies and denial.”

Police at the scene of the accident had Bar Zakai take a breathalyzer test, which found that the 23-year-old Jerusalem resident was under the influence of alcohol. The test marked his blood alcohol level at 600 micrograms per liter, more than ten times the amount allowed for a driver under the age of 24.

Since the test that was performed is often not enough to hold up in court, police requested additional, more accurate blood test, but Bar Zakai refused. According to Israeli law, such refusal means that the suspect is considered to legally have been drunk.