Car Thief Dies in Jerusalem Chase Crash; Officer and Civilian Slightly Injured

A car thief fleeing police in Jerusalem died overnight Wednesday in a solo crash. The suspect, not yet identified, was found in critical condition at the scene and later pronounced dead at the hospital. A police officer and a civilian sustained minor injuries during the incident. The stolen vehicle was reported taken from the Katamon neighborhood, prompting patrol units from Jerusalem district stations Moriah, Lev HaBira, and Shalem to pursue. The suspect ignored police commands and led officers on a dangerous chase, driving against traffic and endangering others. Police fired at the vehicle's tires, but the suspect continued until crashing into a pole and a private car at the Al-Tur junction in East Jerusalem.

Additional traffic accidents occurred overnight: Fahmi Ziadat, 30, from Mukeibla in the Gilboa region, died in a collision between a private car and a truck on Road 675 near Nir Yafeh south of Afula; another man around 30 was seriously injured and taken to Emek Medical Center. In Tel Aviv, a 25-year-old electric scooter rider was severely injured by a truck on Menachem Begin Road and hospitalized at Ichilov with a head injury. This morning, a 10-year-old boy was seriously hurt when a tractor overturned near the Kinneret moshava south of Tiberias; he was taken to Poriya Hospital with chest trauma.