Three People Dead, Others Injured as Bus Veers Out of Control and Crashes in Yerushalayim

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – Three people were killed and at least one other seriously injured, after an Egged bus apparently went out of control and crashed into a storefront in Shamgar Street outside the Shefa mall, according to Zachi Heller, a spokesman for Magen Dovid Adom.

Of the fatalities were an expectant mother in her 30s, Shoshana Glustein, her twelve years old daughter Chayah Sarah, and her three year old daughter Chana. At least six others were known to be injured, including one seriously, two moderately and three lightly. They were taken to the emergency rooms at Haddasah Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus.

According to initial reports, MDA paramedics were administering first aid at the site of the accident to the many pedestrians who were injured. The person in serious condition was evacuated to hospital.

Meanwhile, eight emergency rescue crews were working to extricate three people trapped under the crashed bus.

After news of the accident broke, the Bus Drivers’ Union issued the following statement:

“The bus drivers are collapsing and most of them drive long hours every day due to a shortage of over 5,000 drivers. The buses have become a ticking time bomb due to the worsening shortage. It is time for the heads of the Transportation Ministry to take this seriously. The drivers and passengers must not give up their lives,” it said.

A spokesperson for said:

“The driver involved in the accident is an experienced and skilled driver who started his work today in the afternoon and is shocked by the difficult circumstances,” said Egged. “Regardless of the findings of the investigation regarding the circumstances, Egged expresses deep sorrow in view of the severe and unusual accident that occurred this evening in Yerushalayim, shares in the grief of the families and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.”

Police have opened an investigation into the cause of the deadly accident, and it was not yet known whether driver fatigue was a factor. The incident comes just two days after an Egged bus swerved into pedestrians and crashed into a construction site at Yirmiyahu Street in the capital on Tuesday night, killing a 70-year-old Israeli man and lightly injuring another pedestrian.