Last update - 00:00 09/05/2007
Police to question drivers who did not help motorcyclist as he lay dying on road
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
The Police Traffic Division said on Tueday it was trying to locate drivers who passed by a motorcyclist as he lay dying in the road, without stopping to help, following an accident in Azur, near Tel Aviv, on Sunday.
Moshe Hai-Yisraeli was killed at Azur Junction after his motorcycle collided with a truck. He lay bleeding in the road for more than a minute as heavy traffic flew by. Finally, a driver pulled over to help.
"We will try to bring at least some of the drivers in for questioning in the following days ," police officer Noam Bagiansky told Haaretz.
Several passersby who saw Hai-Yisraeli after the crash later told police that they kept away because of the gruesome appearance of Yisraeli's body after the truck crushed his head.
"It was obvious the man was dead anyway, so there was no point in attending to him," they said.
However, police said they did not intend to ask drivers why they failed to administer medical treatment, but rather why they swerved around the body and continued on their way, as surveillance cameras recorded.
"They kept driving, as though the man were road kill," Bagiansky said.
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who expressed disgust over the incident, inspected the scene on Tuesday. To date, only one driver has reported to police that he witnessed the accident and chose not to stop. Police decided not to press charges against him.