Doctors at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem are fighting to save the life of a 12-year-old boy who was critically injured in a fatal car crash Saturday night which claimed the life of his mother and newborn sister.
Officials at Shaare Zedek said Monday morning that 12-year-old Itai Rimmel remains in critical condition, with doctors fighting to keep the boy alive. Itai suffered a serious head injury and internal injuries in the crash.
Itai’s father, Efraim Rimmel, is listed in serious condition, hospital officials said. Efraim underwent stomach surgery last night, and is being treated in the hospital’s intensive care ward.
On Sunday, Tzipi Rimmel and her three-week-old daughter Noam Rachel were laid to rest.
The accident occurred on Route 443 just west of Jerusalem Saturday night, when an 18-year-old Arab driver from eastern Jerusalem slammed into the Rimmel family’s car while driving far above the speed limit.
Tzipi Rimmel, 34, and her daughter Noam Rachel were both critically injured in the crash, and succumbed to their injuries soon after.
Yesterday, residents of the Rimmels’ hometown of Neve Tzuf (Halamish) in Samaria mourned the double tragedy.
“We woke up this morning hearing about this awful, awful tragedy, heartbreaking, about our friend, Tzipi, who was killed in a car crash last night with her newborn baby, Noam, who was only three weeks old. And the awful condition of Efraim, the father, and the son, Itai, who are still in the hospital, still fighting for their lives,” Miri Ovadiah-Maoz, a friend and neighbor of Tzipi Rimmel told Arutz Sheva.
“Our community has suffered quite a few tragic events over the last few years. It is a small community, everybody knows everybody, it is less than 300 families.”