Mother mourns Israeli soldier killed after Panama crash

Nadir Adri, 22, from Ashdod, died from injuries sustained in a fatal bus crash in Panama that also killed Noya Yitzhak. He had been flown to Israel in critical condition and doctors fought for about a week to save his life before declaring him dead.

Adri had completed his military service as a combat soldier in the Artillery Corps and set off on the traditional post-army trip. His service included fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, receiving an outstanding service citation, and helping to neutralize a terrorist in the West Bank, preventing an attack on soldiers.

His mother, Roza, said he was the pride of her life and a “hero of a mother.” She described him as someone who excelled at everything, loved sports, was a devoted Hapoel Tel Aviv fan, and cherished his army service, friends and commanders. “He was my best friend,” she said, recalling how he would take her shopping and wherever she needed to go.

Adri began his trip in Brazil in February, then traveled to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Panama. At the end of his stay there, he boarded a minibus with friends to continue to Costa Rica, but it collided violently with a bus stopped on the side of a highway. After the crash, Israel’s Foreign Ministry notified his mother, and she and family members flew to Panama, where they were accompanied by Foreign Ministry officials and representatives of a Jewish organization. He spent 10 days there before being transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, where his mother said doctors warned them of the worst because of a severe head injury and bleeding. Friends and relatives have since gathered around the family and are working to memorialize him, while his school friend Shoval wrote an emotional tribute on Instagram calling him irreplaceable.