A man has been charged following a crash in Kent that left two people dead and a child seriously injured.
A black Alfa Romeo was involved in a collision with five pedestrians, all members of the same family, outside a multistorey car park in Ramsgate, Kent, at around 9.35pm on Wednesday.
A Cambridge physicist and mother of two, Noga Sella, aged 40, was one of two victims of the fatal crash. Her father, Yoram Hirshfeld, 78, also died, while her six-year-old daughter was taken to hospital and remains in a serious but stable condition.
Ms Sella’s husband, Omer Sella, and their eight-year-old son both suffered minor injuries.
Nitesh Bissendary, 30, of Highlands Glade, Manston, Kent, has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He has also been charged with failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision, drink driving, and failing to provide a sample for analysis.
He will appear at Margate Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Officers investigating the incident also arrested a 58-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting an offender and possession with intent to supply class-A drugs, and both have been released on bail until 8 September.
The Independent understands that Mr Hirshfeld, from Rosh Pinna in northern Israel, was visiting his daughter’s family, and they were visiting the Kent area on a trip.
According to Israeli rescue unit Zaka International, which released a statement following the incident, the family were leaving a restaurant when the devastating crash occurred.
The family lived in Milton. Ms Sella was a consultant physicist at the Cambridge Design Partnership, which works with companies to develop innovative products. She studied physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before moving to the UK.
Raushan Ara, the mayor of Ramsgate, said: “My thoughts are with the friends and family of those who lost their lives and those injured in the tragic incident. On behalf of the people of Ramsgate I send our sincere condolences to the family, who have lost a mother and grandfather. This is an extremely sad and tragic accident which has shocked the local community.”
Amnon Eden paid tribute to Mr Hirshfield, a former maths professor at Tel Aviv University, describing him as “generous to a fault.”
“I met Yoram Hirshfeld for the first time about 25 years ago when he substituted my first year algebra lecturer. For the first time ever, the lecture immediately ‘made sense’. Perhaps the best example ever for the difference that a great teacher can make.
“Yoram was my master’s co-supervisor and later my PhD co-supervisor in Tel Aviv University. The more I got to know him, the more influential as a role model he was: generous to a fault, kind in a world that is not, and funny in a way that made him loved by everyone.
“Thank you Yoram for being [a] role model: as a parent, as a mathematician, as a good person. So sorry to see you’re gone in such a tragic and unnecessary manner.”
