Etai (on the ambucycle) and members of the Rimel family at the dedication ceremony, Jan. 31, 2021.
On December 1, 2019, the Rimel family was devastated when an Arab driver hit their car at high speed on Highway 443 near Givat Zeâev, killing Tzipi Rimel and her three-week-old daughter Noam. The accident left the father, Ephraim Rimel, crippled, and his son, Etai, in a coma in critical condition. Ephraim and Etai were treated at the scene by United Hatzalah volunteers and later transported to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
Etai recovered slowly and required numerous surgeries to repair the damage to his body. He lost his left leg from the knee down. Like his father, Etai now requires a wheelchair to get around. Six months after the horrific accident, Etai, who was 12 at the time, was released from the hospital and continues intense rehabilitation therapy at Alyn Hospital.