A 61-year-old bus driver was killed Wednesday in a serious collision between a bus and a truck on Highway 91, near the Mahanaim Junction in the Upper Galilee.
Nineteen other people were injured in the accident, including the truck driver, who was seriously injured, and 18 bus passengers who sustained minor injuries.
Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency teams dispatched to the scene found the bus driver trapped inside his vehicle, unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing. Following complex rescue operations and resuscitation attempts, paramedics were forced to pronounce him dead at the scene.
The truck driver, a man approximately 50 years old, sustained serious injuries to his lower limbs. He received initial medical treatment at the scene before being evacuated to a hospital aboard an MDA-Hatzalah Air helicopter, while undergoing continued medical treatment.
Eighteen bus passengers, young adults approximately 20 years old, sustained minor injuries and were evacuated by MDA ambulances to Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
MDA emergency medical technician Gil Ad Ben Hamo, who was at the scene, described the severity of the collision and the rescue efforts, recounting: "It was a horrific traffic accident. Both vehicles sustained extremely severe damage to their front sections. The bus driver was trapped, unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing."
"During the complex rescue operations, we provided him with medical treatment, but unfortunately, we were ultimately forced to pronounce him dead at the scene."
Ben Hamo added, "Meanwhile, additional MDA paramedics administered medical treatment to the truck driver, who was unconscious and suffering severe injury to his lower limbs. He was evacuated to the hospital aboard an MDA-Hatzalah Air helicopter while receiving continued medical treatment. Eighteen injured passengers from the bus were evacuated by MDA ambulances to the hospital in mild condition."
Police officers and traffic accident investigators arrived at the scene on the stretch of Highway 91 between Mahanaim and Gadot and launched an investigation into the circumstances of the collision.
Following the accident, Highway 91 was closed to traffic in both directions. Police urged drivers to avoid the area, use alternative routes, and stay updated on traffic arrangements.