The Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday sentenced a driver who killed a teenager while driving under the influence two years ago to 12 years in prison.
The court also revoked Eli Bar Zakai’s license for 20 years and ordered him to pay NIS 100,000 ($29,172) compensation to the family of 13-year-old Eylon Shalev-Amsalem, killed in a 2018 fatal traffic accident in Tel Aviv.
Bar Zakai, who the court determined drank a bottle of vodka before getting behind the wheel, was also given an 18-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay another NIS 75,000 ($21,000) to the family of another teenager, who was injured in the crash.
“The sequence of conscious decisions made by the defendant shattered Elon’s family,” Judge Benny Sagi said, leaving Shalev-Amsalem’s parents “with a wounded and bleeding soul forever.”
After the sentencing, Shalev-Amsalem’s father Kobi said “no punishment will bring him back. At least we have brought a painful chapter to a close.”
The other teenager who was injured along with Shalev-Amsalem, but cannot be identified as he is a minor, was also present at the sentencing.
“The court ruled that anyone who gets into vehicle, and God forbid is involved in such an accident, will be subject to a heavy and significant punishment,” said prosecutor Erez Richtenberg.
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Bar Zakai was convicted last month of reckless manslaughter. He was also convicted of driving under the influence, causing grievous bodily harm, speeding, obstructing an investigation, obstructing justice, and tampering with evidence.
The 23-year-old Jerusalem resident drank a bottle of vodka before getting into his car and fatally running down Shalev-Amsalem on July 26-27, 2018, court papers said. He was indicted in August of that year.
According to the indictment, that night Bar Zakai and his friend Hillel Davis traveled from the capital to a friend’s home in Petah Tikva. On the way, they stopped to pick up alcohol and cigarettes.
Upon reaching the friend’s home in Petah Tikva, the group began to smoke and drink. Bar Zakai then phoned a friend and arranged to meet him at the Shalvata club at the Tel Aviv port. During the conversation, the suspect disclosed that he’d “already downed a bottle of Beluga (vodka).”
Kobi, left, and Dekla Amsalem, parents of Ayalon Shalev-Amsalem who was killed by a drunk driver, speak to the media outside the courtroom of the Tel Aviv District Court on July 21, 2020. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The group then made its way to a birthday party in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim, with one of Bar Zakai’s friends serving as the designated driver in the suspect’s car. Dissatisfied by the party, the suspect urged Davis and the designated driver friend to continue with him to Tel Aviv.
After the two told Bar Zakai they wanted to stay, the suspect became enraged and stormed off toward the car on his own. Realizing that his friend was drunk, Davis called to Bar Zakai and tried to convince him not to leave.
Just after 1 a.m., Bar Zakai was driving down Shai Agnon Street in northern Tel Aviv when he reached a curved intersection at Ibn Gabirol street. Bar Zakai failed to slow down before making the turn and plowed into Shalev-Amsalem and a friend, who were waiting at a street crossing.
Shalev-Amsalem was thrown 26 meters (85 feet) through the air and his friend was flung 15 meters (49 feet) from the point of contact. The victims were rushed to the hospital where Shalev-Amsalem was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The second teen sustained moderate injuries to his upper body.
Upon getting out of his wrecked car and seeing the victims’ bodies, Bar Zakai called Davis, panicking.
“Listen Hillel, I’m wasted. Bring me water,” he said, in an effort to blunt the effects of the alcohol before being tested by police.
When he realized that Davis was not coming, Bar Zakai asked a municipal employee at the scene for water. He quickly drank the entire 1.5 liter bottle.
The suspect immediately asked for another bottle, arousing the suspicions of the employee, who refused.
At that point, Bar Zakai phoned Davis again and told him not to tell anyone that they had drunk together earlier that night.
He later tried to force himself to throw up in an attempt to further diminish signs of alcohol in his system. The suspect then phoned Davis one more, and his friend recommended that he eat mints.
Bar Zakai then realized that all of his calls had been recorded by an app on his phone, which he deleted on the spot.
The car that plowed into Eylon Shalev-Amsalem, killing him and injuring his friend in Tel Aviv on July 28, 2018. (MDA)
Police at the scene of the accident had Bar Zakai take a breathalyzer test, which found that he was under the influence of alcohol. The test marked his blood alcohol level at 600 micrograms per liter, more than twice the amount allowed for a driver under the age of 24.
Since the test that was performed is often not enough to hold up in court, police requested an additional, more accurate blood test, but Bar Zakai refused. According to Israeli law, such refusal means that the suspect is legally considered to have been drunk.
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