The driver of a bus that overturned near Ben Gurion Airport, which left four people dead, has been accused of negligent homicide on Monday afternoon.
Three women and one man were killed late Sunday in a fatal crash when an Egged 947 line from Jerusalem to Haifa overturned and slammed into a concrete bus stop.
Footage from inside the bus that crashed near Ben Gurion Airport
The driver, 44-year-old Haifa resident Alexander Liebman (who was light hurt) had been brought on Monday to Rishon LeTziyon's Magistrate's Court where his remand was extended by four days.
The driver was questioned by the police immediately after the incident in an effort to understand what made him swerve off the road. His phone was also confiscated in order to establish whether he'd answered any phone calls or text messages at the time the incident occurred.
"There was no reason," the driver told investigators.
One of the victims identified as 79-year-old Yosef Kahalani, from the central city of Petah Tikva. He is survived by three daughters and fourteen grandchildren.
The identities of the remaining victims are still unknown, and their bodies were taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for further identification.
Fourteen other passengers suffered various injuries and had been evacuated to nearby hospitals.
Two of the injured remain in a serious condition and are hospitalized at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center.
The crash was so severe that some industrial equipment was needed to dislodge the vehicle and rescue those who were still trapped inside.
Police Chief Superintendent Hai Mizrachi and chief officer for the Traffic Department of the Israel Police, arrived at the scene shortly after the incident.
They said although the reason for the bus overturning is not yet clear, initial evidence shows the driver lost control of the wheel before hitting the bus station.
National Emergency Service paramedic Gali Sofer, said when she arrived at the scene, she saw the bus tilted to the side with the concrete roof from the bus station planted on top of it.
This accident brings the annual death toll on Israel's roads to 354 people.
Since the beginning of the year, 27 of the road accidents involved buses.