The State Prosecutor’s Office announced it will reopen the investigation against a bus driver suspected of driving off with an infant aboard, but without the infant's mother.
In the incident , which occurred on the Tnufa bus company's line 618 approximately a year and a half ago, the driver allegedly drove off while a four-month-old infant was on board, but left the infant's mother outside, calling for the bus to stop.
According to the complaint, the mother had folded the stroller and handed the baby to a fellow passenger who offered to help. The woman boarded the bus with the infant, but before the mother could get on, the driver closed the doors and began to drive away.
Passengers shouted at the driver to stop, and the woman holding the baby pleaded with him to stop immediately, but he continued driving.
The mother, who was left at the bus stop, broke into tears and police were called. A company inspector stopped the bus at the city’s exit, where the mother was reunited with her daughter.
In his initial questioning, the driver claimed he “thought the woman holding the baby was her mother.” The police closed the case, but an appeal filed by attorney Haim Bleicher of the Honenu organization was accepted, and the investigation will now be reopened.
“A bus driver who abandons a baby without her mother and ignores passengers' pleas is a dangerous driver. His actions and motives must be investigated to create deterrence and prevent future tragedies,” Bleicher concluded.