Last update - 00:00 28/09/2007
Man suspected of killing Galilee girl in road accident turns himself in
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
Mohammed Shibli, 21, who was involved in killing a 9-year-old girl in a road accident in Kfar Tavor on Yom Kippur, turned himself in on Friday. He appeared before the Nazareth Magistrate's Court, where his remand was extended by seven days.
Shibli, a resident of the Lower Galilee village of Shibli, was riding an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) together with the driver, As'ad Shibli, 20, when they hit the girl who was riding her bicycle near the local synagogue. The girl, Tal Zino, was critically injured and evacuated to a hospital in Afula, where she later died of the injuries she sustained.
Locals who witnessed the accident said that the two men drove wildly into the town, and ignored requests that they leave. One resident said that the driver "was driving wildly toward a bunch of kids who gathered outside the synagogue. Tal tried to escape, but he hit her."
The driver broke his arm in the accident and was taken to Haemek Hospital in Afula, where he is being treated under police guard.
It emerged that his license had been revoked because of a prior violation. Police will seek to further extend his remand Saturday.
Moti Dotan, head of the Lower Galilee regional council, appealed to the police to "take action to stop the wild and criminal behavior of youngsters in Kfar Shibli."