Wolt courier pulled out scissors - bus driver lost his spleen

A dispute over the use of the road in Ramat Gan escalated in a short time into a violent incident, which ended with a bus driver requiring urgent surgery and a full removal of his spleen.

An indictment was filed at the Tel Aviv District Court against Shlomo Reuven, a 33-year-old resident of Bnei Brak, a Wolt courier, charging him with causing grievous bodily harm under aggravating circumstances using a cold weapon.

According to the indictment, the incident occurred about two weeks ago, in the late afternoon, on Ben Gurion Street in Ramat Gan. Reuven was riding a Honda motorcycle equipped with a Wolt delivery box. At that time, the complainant was driving an Egged bus on line 422 from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak, which was nearing the end of its route and had no passengers.

According to the prosecution, Reuven rode to the right of the bus, pulled up close to it, crossed into its lane, and finally stopped the motorcycle in the center of the lane, in front of the bus.

When the two reached an intersection and the traffic light in their direction was red, Reuven stopped the motorcycle. The bus driver signaled him with his hands to move forward, and then Reuven got off the motorcycle and approached the driver's window. According to the indictment, a verbal argument began between the two, which developed into a physical confrontation.

The document also notes that during the confrontation, the bus driver attacked Reuven on the head, hitting the helmet he was wearing with his hands in an attempt to push him away.

However, according to the charge, the incident escalated when the bus driver got out of the vehicle and approached Reuven in order to move the motorcycle out of the lane. At this stage, the accused pulled scissors from his bag and stabbed the complainant in the chest and left flank area.

According to the indictment, after being stabbed, the driver began to move away from the scene while walking backwards, but Reuven continued to approach him with the scissors in his hand. The prosecution claims that he brandished them at the driver and threatened him with them. Afterward, he returned to the motorcycle and fled the scene. He was arrested eight days after the incident.

The injury to the driver was severe. The indictment claims he suffered a "penetrating stab wound in the chest-abdomen transition on the left side," as well as a stab wound to the spleen. Due to the increased risk of sudden life-threatening bleeding, he was rushed to urgent surgery, during which a full removal of the spleen was performed. Afterward, he was hospitalized for a long period.

Along with the indictment, a request was filed to keep Reuven in custody until the end of the proceedings. In a confrontation between Reuven and the complainant, Reuven asked for his forgiveness. According to his version during the investigation, he confirmed that he pulled scissors from his bag, but claimed that he used them to push the complainant away, and after the incident, he threw them away.

The prosecution described the incident as an ugly stabbing event with immeasurably severe consequences and argued that the actions led to the full removal of an organ in the victim's body. They also noted that after the incident, Reuven fled the scene and left the driver wounded.