Every parent's nightmare: "It's impossible to grasp. It's a child. A pure child"

Roi was only seven years old. His family from Kiryat Yam came to spend the Sabbath with relatives in Rechasim, and on Saturday night - while playing outside - he was killed in a self-inflicted buggy accident in a town near Haifa. Rescue teams called to the scene were forced to declare his death on the spot. "Roi is a sweet child, loved by the whole family. Everyone who was around him," said his uncle, Beni Ben David, in pain. Roi's story is not an isolated case. It is part of a worrying and painful statistic on Israel's roads. The summer vacation is in full swing, and with it, many dangers on the roads for children and teenagers who spend more hours outside, in the absence of educational frameworks. "How can one speak of him in the past tense? What could he have already done in such a short life? How can one eulogize a seven-year-old child?" wondered his uncle Beni. In pain, he appealed to the public: "I ask and beg as a father of children - and as a family member of Roi - keep the children safe. Watch over them. Our children are our world. One more moment to think saves a whole world." Data from the National Road Safety Authority shows that during the summer vacation period, in the last three years, the risk of serious injury to children in accidents is about 13% higher compared to the months of the school year. Just in the last week, 15 people were killed in road accidents - three of them teenagers aged 15-19. According to the Authority's data, in 2025, 12 children and teenagers up to age 19 were killed, and 101 others were seriously injured, just in the months of July and August - an increase of 18% compared to the average in the summer months in 2022-2024. In the summer months, the number of seriously injured and killed is about 10% higher compared to the average of the rest of the months of the year. Teenagers aged 15-19 account for more than half of the seriously injured and killed, while among children up to age 14, more than half of the victims were pedestrians. 63% of the fatal and serious accidents in which children and teenagers were injured occurred on urban roads. Since the beginning of 2026, 261 people have been killed on the roads, in 240 fatal accidents. Among the dead - 30 children up to age 14 and 28 teenagers and young people aged 15-19. From the beginning of July until today, 12 children and teenagers have already been killed - so the number of deaths in these ages in the months of July-August last year has already been exceeded.

"Surely you heard about the child who was run over, well he is mine"

Just three months ago, Ilay Yonatan Ben Shabat, a child of only three and a half, was killed by a vehicle near his home in Or Akiva. His parents, Or and Hadar, who is in her sixth month of pregnancy, are still struggling to process the great loss. The fatal accident occurred in the evening hours on Shalom Shabazi Street, near the family home. According to initial details, Ilay was standing near his mother in the area of the house, when a vehicle that entered the street hit him and caused him severe multi-system trauma. Magen David Adom (MDA) medics and paramedics evacuated him to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera while performing resuscitation efforts, but there the doctors were forced to declare his death. The driver claimed: I did not notice the child.

"Surely you all heard about the child who was run over and passed away - well this child is mine, Ilay Yonatan of blessed memory," wrote the father Or in a heartbreaking post on social media shortly after the accident. "The pain and sorrow are incomprehensible, we are completely broken. But at the same time, I want to say thank you to all the people of Israel who strengthened us everywhere possible, I feel that everyone is participating in my grief. It is very important for me to note that I am not angry, not even at the driver. My family also does not blame anyone and I do not blame anyone. This is a decree from heaven, and his soul will remain with us forever." Ilay was the youngest child in the family, and left behind four siblings - three sisters and a 5-year-old brother who was especially close to him. "We went through difficult years, and he really brought light and joy with him. He was a happy child, who loved everyone, his siblings and us. He has a brother who used to sleep with him in bed, they would run away to kindergarten together, such partners in everything. Everything is still so fresh, even though a few months have passed we are trying to explain to the children what happened." He recalls the terrible day and the moments of horror: "I was with the girl, I took her to eat not far from home. On the way, they called me and told me that there was an accident and they were trying to perform resuscitation. When I arrived, what was going on outside was a scene that is impossible to imagine. Lots of people, ambulances, MDA, United Hatzalah, police. I went down for half a minute to the policeman, I just wanted to make sure the rest of the children were at home, and then they shouted at me: 'Go quickly to the hospital, your wife is already in the ambulance.' I got into the car and drove. There they told us the bitter news, after they tried and tried to save him. It's impossible to grasp. It's a child. A pure child."

"I arrived at seven in the evening, and at ten-thirty we were already burying him here near the family home at the cemetery in Or Akiva. Everything happened so fast," the father choked. "I arrived at the hospital at seven in the evening, and at ten-thirty at night we were already burying him. I hadn't even managed to process it, and they buried him. There were lots of people, I didn't expect it to be on such a scale. I felt that the whole country was with me. I saw the posts even before they published the name, everyone responded and strengthened. It gives a lot of strength." Or maintains contact with the driver, and clarifies again and again that he has no anger towards him. "He is a serious guy from the area, a normal and good person. I don't blame him, God forbid. It can happen to anyone, and may it not happen to anyone," he clarifies. The father returns again in the conversation to his little son, to the child who was and was taken in one second of lack of attention. "He was a charming child, like all children," he concludes in a trembling voice. "A clean, pure child, an angel. We are broken here. But please, don't judge. Not me, not my wife and not the driver. That's the message. Don't judge anyone. It won't help us now. He is gone. We miss Ilay all the time, it's a loss for life. Only 3 years old."

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The danger - right near the house

Examining the characteristics of the summer period, the researchers of the Road Safety Authority identify that the rate of children injured seriously or fatally precisely within their place of residence increases relatively during the summer vacation. The reasons for this lie in the children's presence in places different from those where they stay in the routine, or due to a long stay and play outside the house and near it. This integrates with the fact that children are characterized by a cognitive inability to correctly assess the risks on the road, and their arrival in new places creates a "surprise effect" for drivers, which increases the risk significantly. According to the data, about 38% of child pedestrians are killed when they burst onto the road or cross it while they are hidden and it is difficult to notice them. In contrast, the risk level of children traveling in a private vehicle remains almost identical throughout the year and does not constitute a source of additional risk in the summer. The data also shows that the rate of children killed as pedestrians as well as cyclists and electric scooter riders records a sharp jump in the summer vacation, apparently due to the free time that leads to increased use of these tools, sometimes in an inappropriate manner or in illegal places. Sector analysis reveals that during the summer vacation, the rate of children injured from the Jewish society increases slightly compared to the Arab society. For example, the use of micro-transportation tools during the summer vacation contributes to an increase of about 50% in the monthly risk of children in the Jewish society, while in the Arab society, a decrease of about 10% in this risk was observed during the same period.

Oav Rabus, a 10-year-old child from Qalansawe, was killed a few months ago in an ATV accident after he collided with a pole. His father, Yunis Rabus, says: "My son was on his way home on an ATV, and suddenly deviated from his course, collided with a pole and was killed on the spot. To this day we do not know why he deviated."

"Our tears are still flowing from pain over the loss of our child. We feel his absence all the time," says Yunis. "He was a special child, engaged in sports, swimming and running, and he had many aspirations. I never imagined that I would lose the most precious thing I have."

Yunis, who like many other parents experienced pain he did not know before, now turns to the authorities: "When I used to hear about fatal road accidents, I would participate in the grief of the families who lost their children, but since we lost our son, we feel a much deeper pain. I would like new driving laws to be established, such as setting a minimum age for riding bicycles and ATVs of all types, and that there will be strict regulations that will help keep children safe. I call on the entire public to be vigilant and adhere to safety rules, so that no one will stand in my place."

The Road Safety Authority summarizes and emphasizes that the additional risk towards the continuation of the summer requires increased vigilance on the part of parents and drivers, especially within residential neighborhoods and towards child pedestrians and electric vehicle riders, and recommends constantly sharpening the rules of safe crossing and safe riding. Gili Cohen, CEO of the Road Safety Authority, said: "The summer vacation is a time of recreation and enjoyment for children, but also a period when their risk of being injured in road accidents increases significantly. Each of us - drivers, parents and local authorities - can contribute to saving lives through increased vigilance. We call on drivers to slow down especially in the vicinity of residential neighborhoods, parks and playgrounds, and for parents to remind children of the rules of safe crossing and watch over them, especially at young ages."