Police officer finds son dead at bus crash scene
A 22-year-old Israeli killed in a Sunday morning bus crash near Beer-Sheva is the son of a senior police officer who responded to the accident.
Israeli rescue workers at the scene of an overturned bus near Kiryat Gat in the early morning hours of March 9, 2025. Photo by Magen David Adom/TPS-IL
Liron Avitan was killed and 12 others injured when their bus overturned near Kiryat Gat.
Liron’s father, Deputy Commissioner Yosef Avitan, is the commander of the Southern Traffic Police Department. On arriving at the scene, Yosef discovered that his son was declared dead by Magen David Adom responders.
“The bus was upside down on its left side and a man was trapped underneath it, unconscious, with no signs of life and very serious injuries to his body,” said Paramedic Ronen Shunam Halevi, Medic Naftali Halberstadt and senior MDA medic Aviran Goshen. “We performed medical examinations, but unfortunately his injuries were significant and we had to declare him dead on the spot.”
Three male victims with moderate injuries — ages 16, 29 and 43 were moderately injured — and another nine victims with light injuries were all taken to Beer-Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center for treatment.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
