September 24, 2019 6:00 pm
One of two people accused in the deaths of newly engaged couple Yisroel Levin Z”L & Elisheva Kaplan A”H, has been found guilty of assault and criminally negligent homicide – but not guilty of manslaughter.
Police said 35-year-old Rahmel Watkins was responsible for the two deaths in April 2018 in a five-car pileup on the Nassau Expressway in North Lawrence. Five other people were seriously hurt in the crash.
The chain-reaction crash killed 21-year-old Yisroel Levin Z”L and 20-year-old Elisheva Kaplan A”H. They were going to be married this summer.
Another driver, 25-year-old Zakiyyah Steward, faced charges of driving while intoxicated and vehicular homicide.
Watkins faces life in prison due to his prior violent history as a felony offender.
The tragedy that occured left us all feeling broken. Remarkably, R’ Shaya Levin asked at the levaya that in exchange for their pure neshamos, there should be 10,000 shidduchim as a gift from Heaven. These words did not just inspire for a moment but rather it impacted an entire movement as it sparked the creation of 10K Batay Yisroel (10KBatayYisroel.org); an organization aimed at inspiring all of Klal Yisroel to join in making 10,000 shidduch suggestions leiluy nishmas Yisroel and Elisheva.
10K Batay Yisroel literally translates as: ten thousand Jewish homes, as the goal is to build thousands of Jewish homes.
As a Klal, let us make the extra effort to help the next person and show Hashem that we want to be the messengers of these 10,000 shidduchim and together make 10,000 shidduch suggestions in honor of Yisroel and Elisheva.
Please join this project and redt a shidduch leiluy nishmas Yisroel ben Yeshayahu HaLevi and Elisheva Basya bas Yechiel Efraim.
Suggestions should be logged on 10KBatayYisroel.org to be added to the ten thousand goal.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)