12 killed in Subang collisions
12 killed in Subang collisions
CIREBON, West Java: At least 12 people died instantly and
dozens of others, many in a critical condition, were injured in
two separate bus collisions on West Java's northern highway
connecting Jakarta and Central and East Java.
Five people were killed in a head-on collision between a Lur
Agung bus and a truck loaded with chicken eggs in Batang Ekspres
Village, Pamanukan, Subang regency, on Saturday. Twenty-two
others who were injured in the accident were rushed to the public
health center in Pamanukan.
Three passengers, the truck driver and the conductor, who died
on the spot, have yet to be identified.
Adj. Comr. Dadang Kartobing, chief of the traffic unit at the
Subang Police, said the collision occurred when the bus tried to
overtake several vehicles in front but collided with the oncoming
truck.
On the same highway, another collision also occurred between a
Sinar Jaya bus and a container truck at Patokbeusi, Subang
Regency, early on Saturday, killing seven passengers and injuring
72 others.
Dadang said four passengers were killed instantly, plus three
others who died in a nearby hospital.
The driver of the container truck and conductor escaped and
are still at large.
Dadang said the collision occurred when the truck, which was
on its way from Cirebon to Jakarta, tried to overtake several
vehicles in front and collided with the oncoming bus. The bus
overturned, while the front of the truck was badly damaged.
The truck hit a minibus that later caught fire, a motorcycle
and a food stand before colliding with the bus.
The bus was carrying some about 80 passengers from Tangerang,
Banten, to Kutoarjo in Central Java.
On Friday, another accident also occurred between a minibus
and a container truck near the collision site, killing four
passengers of the minibus.
Last week, at least eleven people were killed in a major
collision between two passenger buses in Indramayu.
The frequency of accidents along this highway has a lot to do
with damage on certain sections of the highway, poor motorist
discipline and the heavy traffic.
Millions of vehicles use the highway every day. --JP