Attorney Ofir Steiner of Mhonenu wrote a letter to the police requesting that they open an investigation into an incident about a week ago - in which a number of Haredi vacationers were run over near the 'Jordan River Rafting' kayaking site.
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Steiner's request comes after several people who were at the scene claim that the runover was intentional and nationalistic, and not due to an accident resulting from the deterioration of the bus.
In his letter, Attorney Steiner presents the vacationers' testimonies: "The victim, along with his son, and several dozen yeshiva students, most of them minors. Upon completion of the kayaking trip, the group members asked to board the buses provided by the site, to the next site on the planned itinerary. In the area at the entrance to the site, there was one bus that was already almost completely full, and another bus that had not begun to pick up passengers at that stage.
""The victim was standing at the entrance to the full bus, while the rest of the group waited for another bus to arrive.
""A third bus arrived at the scene, stopped, and seemed to intend to pick up passengers. However, when the group members began to move toward it, the bus suddenly began to drive forward rapidly, racing directly toward the young men standing near it. The victim warned the young men, who fled in all directions, but some were unable to escape in time and were hit by the bus.
""The victim suffered a direct hit from the bus, which knocked him to the ground and ran over him in the lower body area. The bus stopped only after hitting the victim, and was left standing on the victim's right leg. This was until the victim's son, along with others, shouted at him to move. Then, the driver moved a few meters forward, and stopped again. The driver left the wheel, and did not get off the bus until the police arrived at the scene.".
Steiner adds in his letter how those present at the scene described the incident as a nationalistic car-ramming attack to the police who arrived at the scene, but they did not listen to their claims or take testimony from them: "When the police arrived at the scene, the driver gave a version that he had lost control of the bus, which rolled backward. This is what the police told the witnesses to the incident, who asked to testify that it was a terrorist incident.".
""To the astonishment of those around, the police were unwilling to write down the witnesses' testimonies to the incident, or to formally collect complaints from them. Some of them were even told that it was an 'unfortunate accident,' and ordered them to step aside and let them handle the scene, without allowing them to give their version of events.".
""The victim, along with others who contacted the police, gave an unequivocal version: the driver drove forward, speeding directly towards the young people. Eyewitnesses say they saw him turn the steering wheel directly towards the group of young people, with a look on his face of a deliberate desire to harm them. The bus's brakes were also working properly, as it braked immediately after hitting the victim who was standing last in the group, and after continuing a few meters forward and stopping again," described Attorney Steiner.
At the end of his letter, Attorney Steiner appealed and demanded that the police immediately investigate the incident and collect testimony from all eyewitnesses who were at the scene.
Attorney Steiner: "We received inquiries from a large number of eyewitnesses, all of whom tell of a driver who suddenly accelerated and steered directly toward a group of dozens of young people. We were astonished to hear from them that the police officers on the scene refused to hear the version of those around them, and instead tried to 'close' the incident as quickly as possible, labeling it an accident. The police must immediately open a criminal investigation against the driver, and listen to the versions of the eyewitnesses at the scene, who tell of a deliberate runover of a group of young people.".
