Eyewitnesses to a Tuesday night ramming at a haredi protest in Jerusalem have recounted that the "Extra" bus company driver drove for a full half-kilometer after fatally ramming 14-year-old Yosef Eisental.
Yaakov Zimberg, who was at the scene, told Channel 12 News, "The bus arrived, and the boys blocked it. He called for help, he had the voice of an Arab. They touched his wipers, blocked him, and hit him on the windshield. He suddenly decided to just press the gas pedal hard."
Dubi Cohen, another eyewitness, added, "There were a lot of boys in front of him. He just pushed aside a whole bunch of boys. I saw with my own eyes two boys being dragged on his wheel."
Another witness said, "They spat on the driver, he had no way to get out, and he rammed into all the haredim and rammed them. I was sent flying to the side, there were three others under the bus. There was another street, he ran over three more people there, and now there's a kid run over there."
Shai, who saw the event unfold in front of him, described how he helped the police stop the driver. "I was riding my scooter and blocked him. Ten seconds later, the police were inside the bus trying [to stop him]. We fought with the driver, and he raised his hands to us."
Meanwhile, the police investigation is ongoing. It is suspected that the driver, who was operating Extra's Line 64 to the Ramot neighborhood, hit pedestrians on Shamgar Street, continued driving, and then struck Yosef Eisental on Ohel Yehoshua Street, trapping him under the bus' wheels. Magen David Adom (MDA) teams evacuated three lightly injured victims to the hospital as a result of the ramming.
Initial investigation reveals that after the ramming, the bus driver continued driving for about 500 meters, with the victim trapped under the bus. The driver was arrested for questioning and claimed that he tried to flee after the protesters blocked his path. The owner and CEO of the "Extra" company were summoned to a hearing at the Ministry of Transportation.
The company stated, "We are shocked by the event and wish to express our condolences to the family and the community. The event is under investigation by the police, and the company is fully cooperating and will provide any necessary information."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, "I feel deep pain over the death of the dear Yeshiva student, Yosef Eisental, of blessed memory, who was struck and killed yesterday during a protest in Jerusalem."
"The circumstances of this tragic disaster will be fully investigated in order to learn all necessary insights and lessons.
"I send my deepest condolences to the Eisental family."
He added, "At the same time, I call for restraint to prevent the mood from becoming further inflamed, so that, Heaven forbid, we do not have additional tragedies. The value of the sanctity of life is engraved in our heritage, and we must safeguard it above all else. 'He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord G-d will wipe away tears from off all faces .'"
Yosef Eisental, 14, was a student at Ohel Torah Yeshiva and lived in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. His father, Rabbi Shmuel Eisental, served as a teacher in the yeshiva where he studied. His grandfather is Rabbi Uriel Eisental, the rabbi of the Ramot C neighborhood in Jerusalem.