Last update - 00:00 20/09/2006
Officers to stand trial for misconduct prior to fatal road accident
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
The police officers who last week failed to apprehend a reckless driver who later that day was involved in a road accident that killed five people near Tiberias will stand disciplinary trial for their misconduct, Police Chief Moshe Karadi said on Wednesday.
The decision to try the officers was based on the recommendation of an investigative committee formed last week to examine the offices' conduct on the day of the accident. The officers to stand trial hold different ranks.
The committee was established after the Y-Net Website published a testimony from a Golan Heights resident who said he had contacted the police numerous times to inform them of a driver of a Fiat car driving recklessly and endangering other drivers.
The witness, Roey Tavor, said he had tried to give the police details about the vehicle, but was repeatedly transferred to different operators.
Later that day, the man driving the Fiat drove across the separation line and crashed into a Skoda-type car in the opposite lane, killing five members of the same family and injuring five others.
The Fiat's passengers, a couple and their three children, died upon impact, while those in the Skoda sustained light to moderate injuries.
The police chief also accepted the committee's recommendation to ensure that apprentices at police telephone centers receive personal instruction on how to handle various incidents.