Shmuel Segal (30), an MDA volunteer from Tzfat, was called yesterday (Monday) evening to treat a gunshot wound victim. While he was performing life-saving CPR, an unknown person took advantage of the key he had left in the ignition to steal the vehicle. Police have opened an investigation into the incident.
Ynet reports that Segal is married and a father of six, and works in providing canine therapy to children with special needs. He volunteers as an emergency medical responder with the MDA, and a search and rescue worker with the Israel Dog Unit (IDU), a nonprofit specializing in locating missing persons.
"Yesterday evening I was at home and received a call to go out to treat a gunshot wound that came from Tuba-Zangariyye, which is a town near Tzfat. I left my family and went out in the pouring rain and freezing cold to save lives. For me, this is a sacred mission," said Segal.
"I arrived at the scene, threw on my safety vest, and jumpead out of the car. I was under tremendous pressure, and forgot the key in the ignition. The MDA team that was already treating the wounded asked me to join them at Ziv Hospital in Tzfat. I sat in the ambulance and helped with CPR the entire ride to the hospital. After half an hour, the ambulance team returned me to the point we found the injured and where I left my car."
"I was horrified," Segal added, "My car was simply stolen. I am incredibly frustrated. The car is not insured against theft, so I will not receive a shekel of compensation for the damage. It is not an expensive car, a simple secondhand Renault that I used for work, volunteering and family trips. It is the height of despicability to steal the car from a person who comes to save lives."
"I am asking the unknown thief to return the car to me so that I can continue saving people and volunteering to locate missing people. If the man returns the car to me, I am ready to forgive him for the despicable act. It is frustrating and infuriating that a person who left a warm home in the middle of the storm to save a life finds himself without a car and without equipment," Segal says. "I had canine sports equipment in the car, equipment for locating missing persons and first aid equipment. I am asking from the bottom of my heart - return the equipment to me."
The Israel Dog Unit, where Segal volunteered, published a statement on the incident: "No words could properly describe Shmuel's anguish - that while he was risking his life to save a man who was shot and wounded, heartless criminals would rob the unit's vehicle. There was life-saving IDU equipment in the car as well as medical equipment and personal property connected to Shmuel's dog business. This vehicle serves as our only emergency vehicle for the entire region which was used to responds to IDU missing person emergencies, security emergencies and medical calls. The IDU receives no government funding, despite being the lead search and rescue unit in Israel."
The IDU has launched a campaign to raise 180,000 ILS to replace the missing vehicle and the emergency equipment it contained.
The vehicle is described as a white 2008 Renault Kangoo with a black luggage rack and tubular water container on the roof, license number 46-542-64. Anyone with knowledge of its whereabouts is asked to contact the Israel Police at 100 or the Israel Dog Unit at 0544876709.