Highway 1 bus crash
Highway 1 bus crashPhoto: Flash90

Prosecutors have filed charges against Haim Bitton, the Egged bus driver involved in the crash that left six people dead and twelve others injured in February. He is charged with manslaughter, irresponsible driving, driving at an unreasonable speed and other crimes.

The indictment further alleges that, even though Bitton had a wide field of vision, he did not see the truck on the shoulder of the road and continued driving normally. He later noticed that he was approaching the vehicle in front of the bus and veered away, still unaware of the truck to his side.

Due to the force of the collision, the bus continued moving forward as part of the truck smashed through its right side.

This was not the first time Bitton crashed a bus. In August 2014 he was involved in an accident near Sha'ar Hagay interchange in which 18 people were injured. Prosecutors at the time called him "a reckless driver who did not understand that the vehicle in front of his was slowing down" and he was sentenced to community service and a temporary loss of license.

Even though he had been found guilty of reckless driving, Egged reinstated him as a driver last September. When Walla! news asked the company how it let Bitton continue driving buses, a spokesperson said that the question was irrelevant.