Bus Driver Indicted in Death of 16-Year-Old Near Protest in Southern Israel

Southern District prosecutors filed an indictment on Thursday in the Beersheba District Court against bus driver Moshe Nadav, 28, from Rehovot, accusing him of killing with reckless disregard Naftali Kramer, a 16-year-old who was struck and killed near Kiryat Gat after a protest by ultra-Orthodox youths against the autopsy of a baby girl.

According to the indictment, on January 20 Nadav, a Metropolin driver, was heading to the central station in Rehovot after picking up seminary students. Dozens of yeshiva students were standing at several points along Route 3533 after a protest in the area was dispersed by police. A private car that passed the scene stopped when its driver saw the youths blocking the lane, but Nadav entered the junction and turned despite the road being blocked.

Prosecutors say he kept driving, forcing the youths to move toward the sidewalk, and then reached additional groups standing in the road, causing them to flee from the bus. Kramer was among another group in the middle of the road and extended his arms toward the bus. As the bus approached, he ran toward the curb but was unable to escape and was hit.

The indictment says Nadav was driving at at least 57 kph, a speed deemed unsuitable for the conditions, and that he did not slow down at any stage. It alleges he zigzagged between lanes in a “wild and dangerous” manner, while knowing pedestrians were on the road and that his driving could cause injury or death. After the impact, prosecutors say, he heard the collision, stopped a few meters later, got off the bus, and walked toward the crash scene.

Along with the indictment, prosecutors asked to suspend Nadav’s license until the end of the proceedings. Days after the crash, the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court ordered him released to house arrest, after police appealed and sought a stay. In that hearing, a police representative said, “The suspect saw the people, and he had all the time to stop the bus, but he did not do so,” adding, “Instead of accelerating toward a crowd, you must brake. That is the proper way.” Judge Yariv Ben David later ordered full house arrest, citing Nadav’s cooperation, the fact that he stopped after the hit, and his clean criminal record despite the tragic outcome.