Manslaughter charge unlikely for driver in fatal crash - Haaretz

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Sun., August 19, 2007 Elul 5, 5767

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Last update - 03:02 17/08/2007

Manslaughter charge unlikely for driver in fatal crash

By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent

A truck driver who killed a 5-year-old girl and her father last weekend will probably be indicted for causing death by negligence, despite the police's insistence on charging him with manslaughter, Haaretz has learned.

Yagmur Otman's truck crushed into a car on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway on Saturday, killing Shani Suleimani and her father Moshe, and injuring her mother Irit and her 6-year-old brother Idan.

Otman, 55, of East Jerusalem, had committed more than 190 traffic violations before tearing apart the Suleimani family in the accident near the Ben Shemen interchange.

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The prosecution is considering indicting Otman for causing death by negligence for failing to maintain a sufficient following distance from the Suleimanis' car.

Otman is currently in custody, and his remand has been extended twice since the accident. However, the police and prosecution disagree as to whether he poses a danger to the public.

The prosecution objects to keeping Otman in custody until the end of the legal procedures against him. It argues that he is not a danger, since he was fully sober, had not been speeding and had a valid license at the time of the accident.

These circumstances enable charging him with causing death by negligence at most, based on his failure to keep sufficient distance from the family's car, sources in the prosecution said.

The police disagree with the prosecution's analysis, and maintain that Otman is dangerous, due to the number of traffic offenses he accrued, and given that his license has been revoked several times.

"Even drivers caught driving without a valid license are customarily detained until the end of procedures," a police source said Thursday. "In this case, he definitely should be kept in custody. How many people have to die in order for a harsher indictment to be issued?"

The prosecution is expected to decide what charges to file against Otman at the beginning of next week.

Following the accident, Otman's license was revoked for 90 days, and the prosecution is planning to try and to sentence him during this period.

A Justice Ministry spokesman commented: "When a decision is reached we will issue a statement, and until then we will not argue with anyone through the media."

Meanwhile, the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer yesterday reported a considerable improvement in Irit Suleimani's condition. Suleimani, 39, of Holon, had been seriously injured in the accident and underwent surgery. She has regained consciousness and is considerably improved, doctors said.

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