Teen cyclist to be indicted over friend’s death in hit-and-run – report

Prosecutors are reportedly preparing to indict a teenager after a friend he was transporting on his electric bicycle was killed last month when a drunk driver ran into them.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Nesher, the son of acclaimed Israeli director Avi Nesher, was seriously injured in the September 24 accident and succumbed to his wounds four days later.

Police have accused a 16-year-old teen, whose name has not been released, of carrying Nesher as a second passenger on the bike, swerving into the car’s path and riding without a helmet.

According to a Channel 10 news report Thursday, police wrapped up their investigation of the teen and handed it over to prosecutors, who told the network that as of now an indictment will be filed.

The report said it was unclear what the teenager would be charged with and that the indictment appeared to be aimed at sending a message to other youth not to break cycling laws.

Yitzhak Asefa, a soccer player on the Israel Premier League’s F.C. Ashdod team who drove into the teenagers, is likely to be charged with abandoning the scene of a crime and driving under the influence, according to the report.

Asefa, 20, allegedly fled the scene after the accident, which took place on Tel Aviv’s Rokach Boulevard. He was arrested shortly thereafter by police, who said his blood alcohol level was found to be five times the legal limit.

Nesher’s death drew attention to safety concerns over electric bicycles, which have few regulations in Israel.

Amid calls for increased regulations, the government on Sunday approved a package of measures to improve bicycle safety, among them increased enforcement of existing laws and greater punishments for offenders.