The driver of a jeep that ran down a woman in Tel Aviv in 2008 in a hit and run accident was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday. The driver, Shai Simon, was convicted of killing the victim Meital Aharanson in the incident, and a passenger riding with him was sentenced to five years in prison for leaving the scene of an accident.
After running Aharonson down and seriously injuring a friend that was crossing the street with her in central Tel Aviv, Simon and his partner increased their speed to get away from the scene and went into hiding. Simon was also convicted of tampering with a crime scene, by attempting twice to remove his fingerprints from the vehicle. The two were drunk when they hit the victims, driving through a red light, the court said.