Bus accident victims face hard times<\/p>\n
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang<\/p>\n
An accident involving a Sri Kertabumi-owned bus on Jl. Daan Mogot
\nin Batu Ceper, Tangerang, last Thursday left five passengers dead
\nand 34 others injured. For many of those injured in the crash
\nlive still has not returned to normal, and they have been left
\npondering an increasingly worrisome future.<\/p>\n
\"I should have returned to work last Friday, but I'm still
\nlying in bed and I can't walk despite having spent Rp 500,000 for
\nmedical treatment,\" Mansari, 40, one of the victims who is still
\nbeing treated at the Tangerang General Hospital, told The Jakarta
\nPost last Saturday.<\/p>\n
The father of four, who lives in Pejagalan subdistrict in
\nNorth Jakarta and works as a taxi driver, was rushed to the
\nhospital along with his wife, Haspiah, 35, and their 5-month-old
\nson Andika after the Sri Kertabumi bus plunged into the
\nMookervart River last Thursday.<\/p>\n
His wife and son received only minor injuries in the crash
\nhave already been released from the hospital.<\/p>\n
But Mansari suffered serious injuries to both his legs, his
\nface and his left hand. He is still confined to bed, where he is
\nwatched over by his eldest daughter, 18-year-old Masitoh.<\/p>\n
Mansari, his wife and son boarded the bus at the Pakupatan
\nterminal in Serang, Banten, where they had gone to visit his
\nparents.<\/p>\n
When the Post went to speak to Mansari in the hospital he was
\nsleeping, with his daughter siting next to the bed fanning him.<\/p>\n
When he woke up, Mansari said there was no indication that
\nanything was wrong with the bus before the accident, and the
\ndriver was not speeding.<\/p>\n
\"Before we left I just heard one passenger warn the driver
\nabout the cracked windshield, and the driver looked unhappy to
\nhear the warning,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mansari, who was sitting in the front row next to the
\nthe driver, said he was looking forward when the accident
\nhappened. The driver was passing a minivan on the left when the
\nbus swerved, hit the bridge and plunged into the river, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Now I'm just worried about how to pay the hospital because I
\ndon't have any more money. I can't walk because both of my legs
\nstill hurt, so forget about working,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another victim, 52-year-old Adaruddin, a resident of Jl.
\nHutan Kota in Pluit Timur, North Jakarta, is being treated at the
\nhospital along with his wife, Eti Sumirat, 40. Adaruddin was the
\npassenger who warned the driver about the cracked windshield.<\/p>\n
\"From the time we left the Pakupatan bus terminal in Serang,
\nthe driver didn't drive at all careless. But when I asked him if
\nthe broken windshield was a danger to passengers, he seemed
\ndispleased and said there was nothing to be afraid of,\" said the
\nfather of four.<\/p>\n
\"There was nothing we could do to avoid the accident. And now
\nwe can't reopen our food stall until we both recover,\" Adarudin
\ntold the Post.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two officials from the Tangerang branch of state-
\nowned insurance company Jasaraharja came to the hospital last
\nSaturday to collect data of all of the bus crash victims.<\/p>\n
\"We will provide up to Rp 5 million in compensation for those
\ninjured in the accident and Rp 10 million for those who died,\"
\nAgus Suroso said.<\/p>\n
He said the company would begin contacting families of victims
\non Monday and telling them to come pick up their compensation
\nmoney at the company's Tangerang branch office.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bus-accident-victims-face-hard-times-1447893297",
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