Last update - 00:00 10/09/2006
Young woman, 16, charged with manslaughter in friend's death
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
A young woman, 16, was charged Sunday with manslaughter in the death of a friend, killed in an incident four months ago, when the "Mule" dune buggy the woman was driving crashed head-on into an oncoming car.
The accident occurred only three days after she received her driver's license.
Due to the circumstances of the crash, Tel Aviv prosecutors decided to charge the driver with manslaughter in lieu of the lesser offense of death through negligence.
According to the charges, she had driven without a license for over a year before the fatal crash. Her two passengers, both friends of hers, were not wearing seat belts.
Further, she ignored a series of road signs and drove the wrong way down a one-way street in Herzliya, traveling 100 meters before colliding head on with a Volkswagen. The Mule flipped end over end, and the victim, Yael Yardeni, was killed instantly. The second passenger received moderate injuries and the driver suffered a broken foot and pelvis.
In the indictment the prosecutor Iris Pemilia-Fogel wrote, "In her actions and her failures to follow the law, the accused caused the death of her friend."
"The actions of the accused as they are described took on herself great danger and the possibility of such a lethal accident happening."
In addition to the manslaughter charge, the accused was charged with negligent driving, driving without a license, carrying extra passengers, and driving without a safety belt. The district attorney's office also requested revocation of the woman's license until the conclusion of legal proceedings against her.