Teen girl fatally run over, allegedly by drunk driver, while seeking shelter from missile

A 17-year-old girl was reportedly run over and killed by a drunk driver in Rehovot on Thursday evening while dashing across a street to seek shelter ahead of an Iranian missile attack.

The victim, named in Hebrew media as Gaia Oren, was laid to rest on Friday in her hometown of Ness Ziona.

She was crossing the street with a friend following an early warning siren indicating a possible Iranian missile attack on the city when she was hit by a car at around 9:40 p.m. In the end, missile sirens did not go off in the area.

Medics dispatched to the scene found Oren unconscious and in critical condition. They pronounced her dead on the scene, Magen David Adom said.

The suspected driver, named as Anton Visuta, 23, was detained by police. In court proceedings on Friday in Petah Tikva, police said a breathalyzer test showed that Visuata’s blood alcohol percentage was far above the legal limit, according to Hebrew outlets.

The court remanded him in custody for four days, during which time police will continue their investigation. He is suspected of reckless manslaughter, reckless driving and drunk driving. He is cooperating with the investigation.

Visuta had gotten his driver’s license last year and had already received four traffic violations, according to the Walla news site. His license has been suspended for 90 days.

An only child whose ‘whole life was ahead of her’

Oren, a senior in high school who was active in the Israeli scouts youth movement, was an only child.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, according to Channel 12, her father Shahar wrote that she dreamed of serving as a combat solider in the Israel Defense Forces, and dedicated her life to helping others.

He wrote that she was “a girl who was meant to realize her dream of serving as a combat soldier, and was destined for greatness. All this purity was taken away by a criminal drunk driver whose whole life was about doing harm in the world.”

גאיה אורן בת 17 – הנערה שנהרגה אתמול בתאונה קשה בדרך לממ״ד- הנהג בן 23 נעצר כשהוא שיכור פי 9 מהמותר: גאיה אורן מנס ציונה, תלמידת כיתה יב, בתיכון אליעזר בן יהודה נהרגה בצורה קשה מאד בדרך לממ״ד. הנהג הוא בן 23 עם הרשעה קודמת על נהיגה במהירות מופרזת, ואף בבדיקת ינשוף נמצא כי הוא… pic.twitter.com/nHKlwgdZOD

— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) March 13, 2026

In a eulogy, according to the Ynet outlet, Ness Ziona Mayor Shmuel Boxer called Oren “wonderful” and said the city parted from her “with a heavy heart.”

“A principled and active young woman whose whole life was ahead of her,” Boxer said. “There are no words to contain the pain that comes with such a huge loss.”

He said the city was in touch with Oren’s parents and “embraces the family at this difficult time.”

Ynet reported that a friend of Oren’s wrote on Facebook, “To hell with wars. No parent needs to bury their child.”

The friend added that Oren was “a girl with a soul of gold and a special and deep connection to all her loved ones, and especially to her parents. I was lucky to have embraced her in life.”

Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones across the region since the start of the current war with the US and Israel on February 28, killing 12 people in Israel and wounding over 2,000, according to health authorities.