Bus and Truck Collision Kills Driver, Injures 20 in Northern Israel

A severe road accident occurred today, Wednesday, around 12:00 PM on Highway 91 near the Mahanayim junction in northern Israel, resulting in one fatality and approximately 20 injuries. The collision involved a bus and a truck. Emergency services, including three fire and rescue teams from the Galil-Golan station, were dispatched to the scene. Firefighters worked to extricate a trapped individual from the bus, whose death was pronounced at the scene by MDA paramedics after resuscitation efforts failed. The deceased was identified as the 61-year-old bus driver.

Paramedics treated and evacuated the truck driver, who sustained serious injuries and was airlifted by MDA-Hatzalah to Ziv Hospital. Additionally, 18 passengers from the bus, all around 20 years old, were transported by MDA ambulances to the hospital with mild injuries. Another individual, described as seriously injured, was also evacuated by helicopter.

The incident commander for the fire department, Chief Fire Officer Dror Bohnik, described the crash as "very severe" and noted the firefighters' efforts in rescuing the trapped person. He added that medical teams provided treatment to the injured at the scene, with one seriously wounded person airlifted.

An MDA emergency medical technician, Gilעד Ben Hamo, called the accident "horrifying," detailing the extensive damage to the vehicles. He described finding the bus driver unconscious, without pulse or breathing, and stated that despite complex rescue operations and medical treatment, they were forced to declare him deceased. Ben Hamo also reported that other MDA paramedics treated the truck driver, who was unconscious with severe injuries to his lower limbs, and he was evacuated by helicopter for further medical care.