A severe indictment was filed Friday against an Arab resident of Umm al-Fahm who allegedly struck and killed Staff Sergeant First Class (res.) Adisu Wube on Route 6 early last month—and instead of rendering aid, torched his vehicle, reported it stolen, and fled the scene.
According to the indictment, in the early morning hours of July 12, police received a report of a motorcyclist found critically injured on Route 6 near Yokneam. At the same time, another call came in about a vehicle apparently involved in the accident, found engulfed in flames about 200 meters from the crash site.
Minutes after the initial reports, police received another call—this time from the suspect, who owned the burned vehicle. He reported that his car had been stolen and was heading toward Yokneam. When rescue teams arrived at the scene, medics were forced to pronounce Wube dead. The reservist had been riding home to southern Israel after active duty in the north.
After initial investigative work, including testimony from drivers who identified a man setting fire to the vehicle involved in the crash, suspicion arose that the car’s owner was involved in the accident and that his theft report was false. Police arrested the suspect, a 40-year-old Arab Israeli.
Over several weeks of investigation, detectives linked the vehicle’s owner to the crash and the hit-and-run, collecting evidence showing he was driving at approximately 132 km/h. Upon completing the investigation, prosecutors filed an indictment and requested he be held until the end of proceedings on charges of hit-and-run causing death, negligent homicide, destruction of evidence, obstruction of justice, filing a false report, reckless and negligent conduct, and speeding.