Drivers' terror on the Arava road:
A week after his release from prison, Avior Zaken, a 27-year-old southern resident, was driving without a driver's license on the Arava road, caused a car accident and attacked the driver of the vehicle who violently hit him in the presence of his children.
Judge Gil Edelman sentenced him to 19 months in prison, one year for revoking his license and compensation to the complainant in the amount of NIS 7,500.
The complainant's daughter, who wore it, shared that following the incident she had ongoing nightmares.
According to the indictment, filed by Adv. Reut Nitai, of the Southern District Police Prosecution Department, last July, a week after his release from prison and without a driver's license, an old man was driving north on Route 90. The defendant drove recklessly, overtaking other vehicles, thus causing For a car accident.
Immediately afterwards, the defendant and the owner of the damaged vehicle stopped on the side of the road, in order to exchange details and estimate the damage caused.
According to the indictment, the defendant offered the complainant a sum of money so that the latter would not activate the insurance.
While the complainant was filming the damage to his vehicle, the defendant said ‘a week ago I was released from prison and do not have a license’, and surprisingly attacked the complainant who was standing with his back to him, after dropping him on the ground and starting to kick his head and other parts.
Immediately afterwards the accused fled the scene leaving the complainant injured and bruised, without calling rescue services and without reporting the accident and giving his details.
Road 90 in the Dead Sea area, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
The complainant, who treats kindergartens and a movement guide for early childhood, told the court that the incident also affected him at work and he has been in psychological treatment ever since.
"There were the physiological and medical consequences of a head, shoulder, leg, and whole body injury that took about two weeks until I returned to function physically after them."
The complainant added that "there was an emotional injury that to this day I go to psychotherapy, I have difficulty falling asleep, difficulties at work, I work with children many times I have difficulties to contain situations with children. These are mainly the difficulties I have experienced since the accident. There is a sense of distress, how I got into this situation, I never encountered a situation of a car accident that led to a physical assault on someone else, certainly not mine. "
The complainant's daughter also testified in court and she was the one who dressed her father until the ambulance arrived. "I did not understand so much what happened at first, so while I was trying to calm my little brother sitting next to me. I saw my father with a lot of blood, I tried to stop the bleeding," the daughter said, adding: "Only after Dad got into the ambulance, I went aside, I called A friend and my friend who was on his way to pick us up, and then I fell, it was hard for me to stand. All my clothes were full of blood. Since the accident I have many nightmares at night, unable to sleep whole nights alone, I need to have someone with me, I sleep a lot on the couch parental".
Judge Edelman finally ruled that the degree of violation of the protected values in this case is at a high level.
"The defendant decided to use severe violence in a trivial matter - the complainant's refusal to" give up "seeking insurance for the accident. The unbearable ease of using violence in these circumstances, must receive an appropriate punitive response. "The attack, thus significantly harming the sense of security and peace of the public.
Judge Edelman wrote: "The defendant committed the offenses that are the subject of the indictment only a week after his release from actual imprisonment, which was also imposed on him for violent offenses. In addition, it seems that a suspended sentence did not deter him from returning violently."
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