New Zealand-born rock singer Jon Stevens accidentally ran over visiting Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar this week and broke his legs, Australian media reported.
Eldar, 60, reportedly was visiting his mother-in-law in Australia, where Stevens now lives. He is a veteran Haaretz journalist whose views reflect the newspaper’s left-wing stance.
Stevens formerly was the singer for the Noiseworks group in Australia. He previously has been convicted of drunken driving, After Steven’s BMW hit Eldar as he was walking near his mother-in-law’s home in a posh Sydney suburb, the singer attended to the journalist. Police said tests showed Stevens was not drunk at the time.
He later said, “I hope the gentleman is OK, police and paramedics assured me he is but I’ll be checking in to make sure. It was just an accident…. I’m devastated.”
Stevens has been involved in a number of bad scenes lately. Last week, he was among a group that was in a fracas in a pub. Three months ago, Stevens was charged with after an altercation with his then-fiancée.
The accident has delayed Eldar’s return to Israel by several weeks.