The heavy rains and powerful winds that have been ongoing for the past few days have not only caused power outages and closed roads due to flooding but, tragically, the paralyzing storm is most likely to blame for a fatal car crash that killed three people Monday night on the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Arie Farkash, a medic with the Gush Dan branch of Hatzalah was at the scene of the accident and said the car "lost control and crashed into the guard rail on the side of the road. There were four people in the car and three of them were killed instantly."
Farkash added that "In the middle of the road there was another car which also appeared to be damaged in the accident. I checked it out but there weren't any people in the car. Regarding this, the police need to find out whether there is a connection." Police reportedly did find bottles of alcohol in the victims' car.
On Tuesday morning the Ayalon River overflowed due to the massive downpours, resulting in the Ayalon highway being blocked to traffic from the Glilot Interchange to the Kibbutz Galuyot Interchange. Later, the northbound lanes were closed. Drivers have been notified of alternative routes and have been warned that flooding may persist, subjecting more roads to closures. Police also said to expect rail traffic disruptions and delays following severe flooding.