Eight people were injured in a suspected car-ramming attack near Netanya in central Israel on Thursday, with police launching a manhunt for the driver who fled the scene and then abandoned the vehicle.

Two of the victims, a man and a woman aged 20 and 18 respectively, suffered moderate injuries. Three others were in light-to-moderate condition, and three were lightly injured, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.

The incident happened on Route 57 near the entrance to Kfar Yona.

The wounded were taken to the nearby Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera and Laniado Hospital in Netanya.

Police described the incident as a suspected ramming.

The perpetrator remained at large after deserting his car in the Beit Lid area in the northeastern West Bank, where it was found by police.

The owner of the car is Israeli and has been identified by police and the Shin Bet security agency, Kan news reported. According to the outlet, authorities are working to determine if the car was stolen by the suspect.

Station and district officers conducted searches along roads and in open areas, assisted by other security forces, police helicopters, motorcycle units and canine units, the force said.

In addition, the Central District police commander ordered the immediate activation of all first response teams in nearby communities.

Security forces closed crossings into the West Bank in the area, including the road leading to Tulkarem, as they pursued the suspect, according to a military official.

Israel Police Chief Danny Levy arrived at the scene of the incident, where he held a situational assessment, police said.

Eyewitness Kinneret Hanuka, a Kfar Yona resident, told media that she was driving to work when the suspected attacker cut across her lane and accelerated toward the bus stop. After hitting those waiting at the station, he drove off, leaving the victims lying on the ground.

“I never thought I would see something like this,” she said. “It was sad.”

Hanuka described her dilemma as the drama unfolded, unsure as to whether she should rush to help the injured while afraid that the perpetrator would exit his vehicle with a weapon.

“In those moments, you don’t know what to do,” she said.

After the suspect drove away, she and others ran to assist the injured.

An MDA paramedic who came to the scene said that some of the injured had been thrown 15 meters from the bus stop. He said they were all fully conscious when medics arrived and recounted how the vehicle sped toward them, hit them, and then drove away.

The mayor of Kfar Yona, Albert Tayeb, told media there had long been concerns that bus stops along the route were not protected by metal posts, which are sometimes erected at such locations to prevent ramming.

He said local officials had contacted state road infrastructure company Netivei Israel about the issue but were told that such posts were “not safe.”