Ancol accident survivor still in critical condition<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Tjandrawati Arifin, the only survivor in
\nSunday's horrifying traffic accident at the Kemayoran flyover in
\nAncol, North Jakarta, remained in critical condition on Monday.<\/p>\n
The 37-year-old mother is currently at the Pertamina Hospital
\nin South Jakarta undergoing intensive medical treatment, unable
\nto disclose her grim experience or how she managed to escape the
\ndreadful fire that killed her son, her driver and a friend.<\/p>\n
\"I managed to speak to her last night, but the medical staff
\nprevented me from talking to her longer as she is in critical
\ncondition,\" husband Lie Haryanto, tearfully told The Jakarta Post
\nat the hospital on Monday.<\/p>\n
According to Lie, a property contractor, he still had no idea
\nhow his wife Tjen-tjen, Tjandrawati's nickname, survived the
\nfatal collision or how the accident happened.<\/p>\n
The midday accident took the lives of five people, including
\nthe couple's 13-year-old son Ricky, Tjen-tjen's friend and owner
\nof the car Siauw Mei, Siauw Mei's driver Rusdi and two men in the
\nfuel truck that was carrying 16,000 liters of gas.<\/p>\n
Most of the deceased died of severe burns.<\/p>\n
Lie said he was first informed of the accident by the medical
\nstaff at Husada Hospital, where his wife was first treated.<\/p>\n
But a cousin of Tjen-tjen, Hendri, a computer technician,
\nquoted witnesses at the site as saying Tjen-tjen and Siauw Mei
\nwere sitting on the middle seat of the Isuzu Panther minivan,
\nwhile Ricky was sitting in front, next to the driver, Rusdi.<\/p>\n
Hendri, who had accompanied Lie on Monday at the hospital,
\nsaid he managed to speak to witnesses at the scene shortly after
\nthe accident because he had just arrived at Tjen-tjen's house on
\nJl. Pantai Sanur, some 600 meters from the accident spot, for a
\nvisit, when the accident took place.<\/p>\n
Some witnesses, he said, saw Tjen-tjen attempt to pull her son
\nout from the front seat seconds before the minivan, which had
\nbeen hit by the fuel truck, turned into a sea of flames.<\/p>\n
\"She finally had to leave the car hastily (without Ricky) as
\nshe was already suffering from severe burns,\" Hendri said.<\/p>\n
\"Tjen-tjen, who was doused with water by some street vendors
\nafter escaping the inferno, could only hysterically scream,
\n'Ricky .... save my son, save my son...'\" he added.<\/p>\n
Iyet, another relative of the survivor, recalled that she
\nasked Ricky to join her at a relatives' wedding in Rangkasbitung,
\nWest Java on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
\"But he preferred to go out with his mother, saying
\nRangkasbitung was far away and the weather would be hot there,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Tjen-tjen and her son were on their way to accompany Siauw Mei
\nto attend a funeral of Siauw Mei's friend's mother at Husada
\nHospital when the minivan collided with the fuel truck.<\/p>\n
Lie said Ricky, a first-year student at Gandhi Memorial Junior
\nHigh School, would be cremated on Wednesday at the Atmajaya
\nHospital in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"He was a clever boy, always at the top of his class during
\nelementary school,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Local police believe the accident was caused when the driver
\nof the fuel truck lost control of the vehicle after its brakes
\nfailed. (asa)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ancol-accident-survivor-still-in-critical-condition-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}