A terrible tragedy occurred in Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo
neighborhood on 13 Teves when a five year old boy was killed
while returning home from cheder. The little boy, who
had moved to the neighborhood only a few days previously,
got off the minibus near his home on Admor of Sadigura
Street.
As he was getting off the bus, his coat got caught in the
bus door. The driver, not realizing what had happened,
continued on his way, dragging the child a number of meters
along the road. Passersby began to shout at the driver who
quickly stopped the bus. However by then the child had lost
consciousness and was lying on the road.
Hatzoloh volunteers with the help of Magen David Adom made
all-out attempts to resuscitate the child, but he died
shortly afterward. Police have detained the driver, and his
license was invalidated on the spot.
A number of weeks ago, the Police conduced an extensive
campaign to check the qualifications of drivers transporting
children to chareidi educational institutions. Many vehicles
were taken off the road due to deficiencies. The campaign
was conducted in the wake of a series of accidents in which
children were hurt due to the lack of attention on the part
of drivers. Throughout the campaign, many drivers were found
to be unqualified, and the directors of the educational
institutions were instructed to send an additional adult on
each minibus to supervise the children on their way home
after school.
Residents of Ramat Shlomo say that they witness overt
miracles every few days, when drivers close their doors too
fast and rush off.
It should be noted that the driver responsible for Monday's
accident had previously been charged with 26 traffic
violations, yet nothing has been done to remove him
permanently from the roads.
