Bus driver responsible for deaths of 3 children gets 34 months in jail

The Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday sentenced Yosef Shalom, a bus driver responsible for the 2004 deaths of three children, to 34 months in prison.

On June 30, 2004, Shalom was driving a bus belonging to the Emek Hefer Regional Council carrying 68 children between the ages of seven and 13.

Shalom drove into the Kfar Yona junction and crashed into an Israel Defense Forces jeep. The collision caused the bus to veer left, pile up on a traffic island, cross into a lane of on-coming traffic and overturn.

Three children were killed in the crash: Dekel Rosenfeld, 7; her sister Lotam Rosenfeld, 10; and Aviv Katz, 12. Fifty-five other children were injured in the crash alone with two soldiers in the IDF jeep. Shalom was also hurt.

In July 2005, a district court acquitted Shalom of the charge of manslaughter and sentenced him to 21 months in prison and 15 months probation for causing death by negligence. His license was revoked for a period of ten years.

The prosecution appealed the acquittal, and the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's decision and convicted Shalom of the manslaughter charges. The prosecution was able to convince the Supreme Court that Shalom had made a dangerous attempt to cross an intersection while the traffic light was changing, causing the lethal accident.

	Yosef Shalom, a bus driver responsible for the deaths of three children, coming out of the courthouse after receiving his sentence Sunday. (Motti Kimche)