Three killed, including 4-year old, in car crashes; four seriously injured

Three people were killed Friday evening and four seriously injured in two separate car crashes in northern and southern Israel.

A four-year-old child was killed in a collision between two vehicles in the Lower Galilee. Her parents, aged 30 and 40, and seven-year-old sister were rushed to the hospital, all in serious condition. The driver of the second vehicle was also taken to the hospital and is in moderate condition.

The cause of the crash was not clear, and police were investigating.

In a second accident on Route 90 north of Eilat, a head-on collision killed a woman in her seventies and a man in his forties. Another man in his seventies was taken to the hospital; he is in serious condition.

Route 90 has seen many deadly accidents in recent months. The road, which is Israel’s longest, runs along the eastern border from the northern town of Metula to Eilat in the south. Most of the road is decades old and currently features one lane in each direction, without a traffic divider. Its length and characteristics have made the road one of the country’s deadliest routes.

Transportation Minister Israel Katz has recently ordered plans to be drawn up to expand the highway.