Judge Benny Sagi, the President of the Be'er Sheva District Court, was killed on Sunday in a traffic accident on Route 6 near Al-'Azi and Kfar Menachem in southern Israel.
Sagi, aged 54, was struck by a vehicle that entered the highway from a field on the side of the road. Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance crews that were reported to the scene found him lying on the road, unconscious, and without vital signs.
The police stated that it is suspected that a vehicle that entered the road from the fields struck the motorcycle rider. Accident investigators from the Kiryat Malachi Police Station are investigating the accident.
Paramedics Roee Hazi and Zvi Zilberman, and EMT Meir Avivi from the MDA Motorcycle Unit reported: "This was a horrific accident involving a motorcycle rider and a vehicle. When we arrived at the scene of the accident, we saw the motorcycle rider lying on the road, unconscious, without a pulse or breath, and suffering from a very severe multi-system failure. We conducted a medical examination, but unfortunately, his injuries were critical, and we had to pronounce him dead at the scene."
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin eulogized: “I received with shock and deep sorrow the news of the untimely passing of the President of the Be’er Sheva District Court, the Honorable Judge Benny Sagi. President Sagi was a brilliant jurist, an exceptional judge, widely liked and respected by lawyers and litigants alike. He took upon himself the complex task of managing the Be’er Sheva District Court and, already at the outset of his tenure, turned it into a court that enjoys broad public trust."
Levin added, “President Sagi possessed outstanding managerial abilities and rare interpersonal skills. All of these, alongside extensive professional knowledge, earned him the status of a professional and managerial authority-among his fellow judges, among lawyers, and among the general public exposed to his work. President Sagi will be greatly missed by the judicial system as a whole, by the Be’er Sheva District Court in particular, and by me personally. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. May his memory be a blessing."
President Isaac Herzog responded: “I am shocked and pained by the tragic death of the President of the Be’er Sheva District Court, Judge Benny Sagi. Judge Sagi was a brilliant and sharp-minded jurist, a formidable judge who combined immense professional knowledge with exceptional integrity. From afar, I was constantly impressed by the rare blend he embodied: a judge of stature and authority with a moving personal story, who was known first and foremost as a principled, humble, and kind person, who always saw the individual before him and strove for peace and mediation. Today, the judicial system has lost one of its finest sons and leaders. I send a warm embrace and deep condolences to his beloved family and to all who cherished him."