Please read and pass this to others, this is urgent and more than important!
I'm looking for the right words to describe my pain right now, and I can't find them. Nothing can describe the anger I feel, the disappointment, the offence and the sadness.
My name is Yael Grinspan, I'm a sister of Shahar who is a 13 years old girl today and was injured in a car accident and year and three months ago. "Car accident" is the term supposed to describe what happened to her, but a part of me rejects the usage of this term. On Saturday, 28/12/2009 approximately at 16:00 on the afternoon, Mark Patrick was driving home while he was drunk. He drove on a traffic island while my sister was standing on it waiting for the red traffic light to change.
Mark Patrick ran my sister and a friend of hers over. Her friend was lightly injured, while Shahar's injury was critical. She had been between life and death for a week, in a coma for month and a half and hospitalized in rehabilitation for eight months. During that whole period we had been hearing plenty of times that Shahar had no chance to live, no chance to wake up and no chance to to become rehabilitated. During the first days we were talking about organs donation and funeral arrangements, until Shahar began breathing by herself.
During that whole time Shahar never laughed, never said a word and never stood on her feet. I've been waiting for an year and three months for my little sister, who was few days before her Bat Mitzvah celebration, whose birthday was celebrated in intensive care unit under artificial respiration, to stand on her feet, laugh and dance.
No one promised me that would happen.
Today, on 06/03/2011, a sitting took place in the traffic court in Petah Tikvah, a sitting where the state prosecuted Mark Patrick. The sitting, which was supposed to take place at 10:00, was spontaneously brought forward to approximately 9:00. When me and my family arrived at 9:30, the sitting was already over. No one let us know anything. When we asked to look at the protocol, we were sent to the secretariat and then given the runaround between the secretariat and the judge for almost two hours.
Finally, when I had the protocol, my sight went black. A plea agreement was signed where Mark Patrick, that man who drove while drunk, ran onto a sidewalk and hit a 12 years old girl who was waiting for the traffic light to become green, was sentenced to a 1000 NIS fine and 600 hours of community service. His licence was taken and he got a conditional imprisonment.
A driver who gets caught talking on a cellular phone while driving pays a fine of 1000 NIS.
A man who threw a show at a judge was sentenced to 3 years of actual imprisonment.
The man who took my sister's life, destroyed entire family, is going to live his life like nothing has ever happened.
I was shocked to read the protocol saying that the results of the accident were "quite severe" and the protocol contained lies in the version of "tried to make a visit to the hospital but was banished from there", things that have never happened. It was told how he was miserable, how hard his life was and how much he got hurt of that accident.
There was no word about my sister. No word reminding the results of the accident.
Mark Patrick took Shahar's life away. Mark Patrick was driving on Saturday afternoon while drunk, ran onto traffic island and smashed her head. No one, not a single person, can promise me Shahar will ever get her life back. No one can promise me Shahar will ever say a word, walk, laugh or live. Contrary to that, Mark Patrick is going to live his life.
I don't know if he has ever thought of her.
I want to scream. I want to scream loudly, but no one hears. No one cares of justice and common sense in this state. According to the protocol, all they care about is that he "confessed and saved expensive court time". They don't care my sister has been losing an year and three months of her life. This time is not taken into their consideration.
And I want to scream, but no one hears. A few months ago, when we tried to make arrangements with the State Attorney, to make sure nothing like that would happen, we were told there was no reading aloud yet and we have nothing to meet and talk about with the prosecutor. What we didn't know was that during that time it was decided to sign the horrifying plea agreement.
My heart is broken and it aches. I feel like my broken heart was taken and was stepped on today. We haven't had enough yet. It's not enough that my dad has to carry my sister because the state does not permit us to construct an elevator at home, or tens of thousands NIS go out of my parents' pocket to pay for Shahar's treatments. It is not enough that we had to hear doctors telling us my little sister is actually already dead.
Shahar is not a side in this prosecution. She has never been. The prosecution was between the State of Israel, which's interests are first of all to save time and money, and Mark Patrick. Who cares that people are crushed on the way.
Today Shahar is 13 and three months old. An year and three months ago Shahar was injured in what is called "car accident". But Shahar is not a part of the statistics. She is the most energetic girl in the world, the best friend of everyone who knows her, Scouts fan, loves animals, hears terrible music and is a big annoyment. She is the daughter of Nechama and Israel Grinspan and she is a little sister of mine and Neta. Shahar is first of all and above everything a human.
For the court of law she is nothing more than an ID number.
The system will never come and look in her eyes, because it does not care. The courts and the attorney's office just try to mark more V, not to make justice.
We are going to keep fighting for my sister's life, and my sister will keep fighting for making another tiny move with her hand and to make another conventional sign.
What I'm asking for now: There is nothing we can do about the decision of the court. We are not a side of the trial. But I cannot keep my mouth shut, I cannot make this go like that, ignore and keep going on, so I'm asking: Disseminate it! I want more people to know what happened to Shahar. I am screaming my scream, and I'm looking for someone to hear.
We cannot keep our mouth shut.
(in Hebrew).
If this letter reaches someone who has the power to do something, even to publish little article for us, I'd be glad if you contact me on 0527471185 (or +972527471185), . Also sign the (in Hebrew).
Thanks everyone, Yael Grinspan and her family.