Family of 5 killed on road to be buried

Funerals in Ofakim, Holon, Haifa after tragic accident near Arava junction.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
car accident 190.114 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
car accident 190.114
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Four adults and an infant from the same family who died Monday after their car collided head-on with a truck on Highway 90, near the Arava junction, will be laid to rest on Tuesday.
The five victims - Ruti Dahan (57), her daughter Sarit (19), her son Lior (30), his wife Tali (33) and their five-month-old daughter Shilat - were trapped inside the car and burned to death at the scene.
The victims' relatives and friends will have to make their way to Ofakim for the funerals of Lior, Tali and Shilat, while Sarit will be buried at military section of the Holon cemetery, and Ruti will be buried in Haifa.
The couple, their baby, as well as the sister and mother of the husband, were on their way north from Eilat to a wedding near Haifa.
Their relatives, who found out about the tragic accident shortly before the wedding on Monday evening, made the difficult decision not to tell the bride and groom about the incident and to hold the ceremony as planned.
Meanwhile, the truck driver, Muhammad al-Jabur, a Rahat resident in his 20s, told police that he swerved into the opposite trafficlane because the overhead glove compartment suddenly popped open and hit him in the head,distracting him from the road.
However, police suspect that the driver may have fallen asleep at thewheel or was speeding, and will ask the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court to extend the man'sremand on Tuesday.