Unlicensed Driver Speeds at 93 MPH, Crashes Ambulance During Police Chase

A routine speed check on Highway 79 in northern Israel escalated into a dangerous police pursuit on August 13th when a driver, clocked at 121 km/h (75 mph) in a 90 km/h (56 mph) zone, fled from officers. The driver, later identified as Qais Khalil, 27, from Anin in the Palestinian Authority, accelerated to approximately 150 km/h (93 mph), weaving erratically between vehicles and colliding with an ambulance.

Khalil continued to drive recklessly, even after hitting the ambulance, passing trucks and cars at high speed. His dangerous maneuvers forced other drivers to brake suddenly and swerve to avoid collisions, with one truck nearly crashing into a guardrail. "At certain points, he reached speeds of 150 km/h," said Acting Nazareth Station Commander, Superintendent Rotem Daei. "This is a busy main road in the morning, and this incident could easily have resulted in many casualties."

After losing sight of Khalil temporarily, police continued their search and eventually located his vehicle several hours later on Highway 65, near the Kfar Kara junction, where he was apprehended. Investigations revealed that Khalil is an illegal resident who entered Israel through a breach in the fence near Jerusalem. He had been using an Israeli ID card to work and present himself as a resident of Umm al-Fahm.

Khalil had never obtained a driver's license. The Nazareth North Prosecution Unit has filed an indictment against him in the Nazareth Magistrate's Court, charging him with reckless driving, illegal entry and presence in Israel, obstructing an officer, using a forged document, and driving without a license.