Bus Driver Sacrifices Life to Save Soldiers in Fatal Northern Crash
Bus driver Avshalom Revivo was killed on Route 91 when he swerved to absorb a head-on truck collision, saving the lives of 20 soldiers he was transporting.
A fatal traffic accident on Route 91 in northern Israel claimed the life of 61-year-old Avshalom Revivo from Ashdod. Revivo, a bus driver transporting about 20 soldiers from the Tel Nof Air Base, steered his vehicle to the right upon noticing an oncoming truck that had drifted into his lane, absorbing the full impact and saving the lives of the soldiers on board.
Heroic Actions Save Soldiers
The crash occurred Wednesday afternoon between the Mahanayim Junction and Kibbutz Mishmar HaYarden. According to police investigations and company reports, Revivo made a split-second decision to swerve right rather than left. Doron Shukrani, the owner of the transport company, stated that swerving left might have saved the driver himself, but would have resulted in a catastrophic head-on collision with the passengers.
"Avshalom chose to swerve right knowing he was taking the full force of the blow upon himself," Shukrani said. "He died instantly, but through this act of heroism, he saved the lives of the soldiers on the bus."
Investigation and Tributes
Emergency services including MDA medical teams and fire rescue units arrived at the scene. Paramedics attempted resuscitation but were forced to pronounce Revivo dead at the site. The truck driver, a man in his 50s, was seriously injured and evacuated by helicopter to the hospital, while the soldiers sustained only minor injuries and were taken to Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
Following the tragedy, the Public Transport Drivers Organization called for Revivo to be officially honored by the state. Family members, colleagues, squadron commanders, and the soldiers whose lives he saved attended his funeral in Ashdod to pay their final respects.
