A fatal car accident has devastated the Messianic community in Israel after Sophie Rosetsky and her 2-month-old baby, Itay, were killed when a truck plowed into their car last Thursday.
Rodrigo Rosetsky, Sophie’s husband, remains hospitalized in an induced coma while the family’s 2-year-old daughter has been released with minor injuries.
The family pulled over safely and were parked on the side of the road so the mother could breastfeed the baby, police believe. Police are investigating the cause of the accident in which the truck seemed to have crossed several lanes and hit the car which was on the shoulder, dragging it several meters.
Sophie was a believer, and according to her friends, a loving wife and mother and empathetic soul. She loved God and lit up any room she entered.
“She was an amazing woman who loved her children and loved her husband, her family, respected everyone and was so caring,” one friends said. “She loved to tend to her garden and talk about it. We had so much to talk about when we would meet about homeschooling our children. The last time we met I told her we will talk more about homeschooling next time… I’m so sad that we won’t get to meet like I wanted to.”
Hebrew media has reported extensively on the heartbreaking accident. One media outlet quotes Sophie’s brother and translated the name of Jesus as Yeshua, which is correct, while another outlet used the commonly used epithet Yeshu, which was a rabbincally-derived abbreviation for the Hebrew translation is, “May his name and memory be blotted out.” Israelis commonly use the name Yeshu and are unaware it is meant to be insulting.
“You are loved FOREVER, Sophie and Itay,” Sophie’s brother Matthew Riling wrote on Facebook. “You have seen Him face to face and are sitting at the feet of Jesus. May we all find hope and joy when that day comes!”
Rodrigo’s father, Mario, spoke with Ynet News at the hospital.
“I do not understand what happened there. Such a young and beautiful was destroyed,” he said. “The pain is tremendous. I still haven’t digested the news and I haven’t woken up from the nightmare.”
Rodrigo, 35, is a major in the Israeli air force. Sophie, the 28-year-old mother of two, was originally from Texas.
The horrific accident, in Gedera, was one of several fatal ones across Israel in what some are calling the “war on the roads.” Nine people died last week due to traffic accidents including eight of them in the past several days and a child who died last week after being injured in a hit-and-run in Jerusalem two and a half months ago. There have been 26 fatal car accidents since the beginning of the year.
“The pictures and stories of those killed are heartbreaking,” said Erez Kita, director general of Or Yarok, a driving safety organization. “Children and young people whose entire lives are before them fell in the war on the road, which exacts a high price from Israeli society.”
“For a few months, unfortunately, we have recorded a steady increase in the number of road traffic fatalities compared to last year, which should have been a red light both in the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety and in the Israel Police,” Kita added.
The truck driver has been arrested. His lawyer said the driver doesn’t remember what happened. Police said there was no evidence of drugs and alcohol.
Please pray for Rodrigo’s full restoration and recovery, for the 2 year old daughter and the family’s relatives and friends.