Less than a day after the Arab driver who rammed into the Rimmel family's car was unconditionally released, police re-arrested him.
He was re-arrested after a witness gave detailed testimony which showed the driver's part in the accident, causing the charge against him to be changed from causing death by negligence to the more serious offense of causing death by driving lightheadedly, Maariv reported. This is one of the most serious crimes in the traffic code.
Maariv was told that on Tuesday night, a civilian arrived at a Jerusalem police station, telling interrogators how the accident occurred and detailing how events unfolded, including the significant role played by the youth who caused the accident and killed a mother and her 3-week-old baby.
According to the witness, the driver got into his vehicle and began performing stunts at high speed. He drove at an excessively fast speed and at one point crashed head-on into the rear of the Rimmel family's vehicle. As a result of the violent crash, Tzipi Rimmel and her daughter were killed, while Tzipi's husband was seriously injured and their son is fighitng for his life.
The incriminating testimony resulted in the police decision to re-arrest the driver, who is currently in an intensive care unit. The court will be asked to extend his arrest while he is hospitalized.
Maariv noted that on Thursday, tests confirmed that the driver was not inebriated and had no traces of drugs in his bloodstream at the time of the crash.