A traffic stop turned into a dangerous highway chase on Route 77 in northern Israel last weekend, ending with the arrest of a 29-year-old physician from Rahat.
Police officers near the Beit Rimon interchange spotted the driver committing a traffic violation and signaled him to pull over. He didn't. Instead, he hit the gas and took off, forcing officers to pursue him across several kilometers at high speed while other drivers scrambled to stay safe.
During the chase, officers fired at the suspect's tires trying to stop him. The tires blew, but he kept going anyway, until a police cruiser blocked his path. He had nowhere left to go. The car slammed into the police vehicle and came to a stop.
Body camera footage shows what happened next. Officers jumped the concrete median barrier, sprinted toward the white vehicle, and grabbed him. When they searched the car, they found weapon components and other evidence scattered in the passenger compartment.
During the chase, someone saw the driver throw a bag out the window. A female motorist called police to say the bag had landed in front of her car and gotten caught underneath. She didn't realize until she got home and found an M16 assault rifle wedged beneath her vehicle. She'd dragged it the entire route without knowing.
Police matched the rifle to the components they'd found in the doctor's car. It was the same weapon.
Prosecutors filed serious charges and asked that he be held until trial. The Northern District noted they've seized over 610 weapons so far this year as part of an ongoing effort to combat illegal firearms in the region.
