Bus Driver Collapses While Driving on Road 651, Critically Injured in Crash

On Thursday evening, a bus driver in his 50s suddenly lost consciousness while driving near the Pele-Yam junction on Road 651, causing his bus to collide with a nearby private car. Emergency teams from Magen David Adom (MDA) arrived quickly to find the driver unconscious and without pulse inside the bus. They performed prolonged resuscitation efforts, including eight electric shocks with a defibrillator, before stabilizing him and rushing him to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in critical condition.

MDA paramedics Jonathan Yankelvich, Yosef Friedman, and Elimelech Michalovitch described the tense scene, noting the frightened passengers and the driver’s lack of vital signs upon arrival. While the bus passengers were unharmed and did not require hospital transport, the private car’s female driver sustained minor injuries and was also taken to Hillel Yaffe for treatment.

This incident adds to recent reports of serious events involving bus drivers on Israeli roads. Earlier cases included a violent attack on a Jerusalem bus driver that caused him to lose consciousness and teeth, and a sudden stop in Bnei Brak that injured an elderly passenger after a car cut off the bus. Authorities continue to monitor road safety and emergency responses in such critical situations.