Not caught: Driver using a cane due to disability, endangering pedestrians, causing an accident and escaping

You have not seen such a pile of lawlessness for a long time: a cripple on both feet insisted on driving a normal vehicle with a stick.

Caused an accident and escaped.

What did the court sentence him to?

You will not believe

Walla! Car

13/01/2022

Thursday, 13 January 2022, 09:22 Updated: 09:58

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In the 21st century, while mobility impairment requires coping and with it not simple difficulties to conduct oneself in the public space as one, but technological developments make the matter much easier than in the past.

And yet, the driver you will read about here has decided that his duty to make use of a vehicle adapted to his condition and even his entitlement to one is not something that should stop him from driving.

Allegedly, it was another hit-and-run accident that caused only property damage: an indictment was filed against the driver for endangering pedestrians crossing a road at a crosswalk, disobeying a red light at a traffic light, causing a minor accident with another vehicle and then leaving the scene without leaving details for the driver Involved as required.

However, this case is different and the judge who heard the case rubbed his eyes: according to the facts of the indictment, the defendant drove a vehicle that was not adapted to his condition (the defendant has a lower limb with a 100% disability) and uses a cane to operate the vehicle.

More on Walla!

Knocking and running away: Are you next in line?

To the full article

The attorney representing the defendant asked the court to consider the difficult circumstances of his life as a disabled person

The police prosecution sought to aggravate the case with him: in its arguments it emphasized the exceptional circumstances for the severity the defendant caused the accident in endangering human life, while driving a vehicle that was not adapted to his condition, and causing an accident for not obeying a red light.

If all this was not enough, he then left the scene of the accident without leaving details.

Therefore, the prosecution argued that in this case, the appropriate punishment should include an element of actual imprisonment alongside a disqualification of the driver’s license for a period of 4 years, even though it is not an accident in which bodily injuries were caused.

On the other hand, the defendant's attorney, Adv. Rahamim Azaria, claimed that the driver took full responsibility for his actions and that he did not have a conditional prison sentence. In addition, he noted that the results of the accident were only minor damage to property. In addition, it was alleged that the defendant's divorce after his wife left him in his condition, led to severe mental deterioration in him, and although he has full entitlement from the state to receive for free (or almost no cost) a disabled vehicle adapted to his condition, he did not act. Due to the depression he suffered from and decided to move with the help of a stick and in a way that endangered himself and the road users. The driving which will leave the defendant with a rehabilitative horizon.

Moves in a wheelchair and uses a stick to operate the accelerator and brakes (Photo: Reuven Castro)

The court clarified that the defendant was driving a vehicle that was not adapted to his condition as a disabled person, caused a minor accident with property damage, after which he committed the main offense in this case and that is

. According to the judge, the offense of not leaving details is an offense of lesser severity than the offense of abandonment, and yet the protected value of establishing help for another person injured on the road also underlies this offense even if it is not a serious injury.

The judge also noted that the penalty for non-delivery of details in violation of Regulation 144 of the Traffic Regulations (abandonment and failure to leave driver details in the event of an accident) is actual disqualification of between 3 months and 12 months, conditional disqualification, and a fine of between 1,000 and 2,500 shekels . In the case of an accident in which the defendant caused an injury, a suspended sentence or obligation was added to the components of the said punishment. In cases where, as a result of the accident, a person was injured in actual injury, actual imprisonment was also imposed.

However, in the case in question, the indictment also included negligent driving and endangering human life in the vehicle using an auxiliary stick when the defendant did not in fact have effective and reasonable control over the vehicle.

In light of this, the judge was of the opinion that this additional severity requires placing the compound at a minimum threshold of 8 months disqualification when the upper threshold will reach up to 24 months disqualification.

This is when, in addition to this component of punishment, a suspended sentence will also be imposed, even though this is an incident that caused only property damage.

A place for aggravation even though it is only property damage (Photo: ShutterStock)

Advocate Warsaw: "The severity of the punishment in the case in question also expresses the court's disgust at this disgusting phenomenon" (Photo: Regev Kalaf)

In addition, in determining the sentence of the defendant, the court took into account that this is a driver who since 2004 has accumulated for his duty 16 traffic offenses most of which are fine offenses. At the same time, and after the incident in question that occurred on 9.10.19, the defendant drove twice more (!) In a similar situation that does not allow him to control the vehicle. In light of this, the court ruled that this is a defendant with a pattern of recidivism and with an exceptional risk threshold.

Conclusion: The defendant was disqualified from holding a driver’s license for 18 months and was suspended on probation for a period of 8 months, for 3 years. In addition, the defendant will declare a financial commitment in the amount of NIS 5,000 to refrain from committing an offense in violation of Regulation 144 of the Traffic Regulations or an offense of driving while disqualified and all within two years from today.

The phenomenon in which a driver harms and damages property but leaves without leaving details - is a sick evil in Israeli society.

According to a recent survey, in 2021, no less than 13.1% of referrals to garages or insurance companies for repairing tin damage were due to hit and run accidents, a figure that reflects an alarming increase of 16.9% from what was done in 2020. The severity of punishment in the case also reflects The court is disgusted by this disgusting phenomenon, which is a clear violation of the law.

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• car accident

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• handicapped

• accident