38 dead in weekend traffic accidents
JAKARTA (JP): The long weekend, traditionally a time for people to take out of town trips, saw tragedy with three separate accidents claiming 38 lives.
All three accidents -- one in West Java, and two in Central Java -- were attributed by the police to reckless driving.
In the first accident occurred when a Mios intercity bus plunged into a ravine at Kampung Kiara in Mandalawangi village, Bandung regency, West Java, about two kilometers from the Rajamandala toll road in Bandung on Sunday morning.
The bus was plying the Bandung-Sukabumi route.
"It was human error," Bandung regency police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bagus Kurniawan said.
According to witnesses, the bus driver, Mamat, was trying to overtake a motorcycle when it struck it and lost control.
The bus hit several trees before it plunged into the ravine.
Sixteen people died instantly at the scene. Three more died in the hospital. One of the two motorcyclists was said to be among those dead.
Over 40 people were being treated in several hospitals in the area.
Mamat, 31, fled after being treated in hospital. He was apprehended by police later in the evening.
Preliminary questioning revealed that Mamat was not the official bus driver. He was apparently a replacement driver for the scheduled driver, who was reportedly ill.
Mamat is currently in police custody.
One passenger, Khofifah, 40, said the bus was packed. She herself was left standing in the bus as there were no empty seats available.
She claimed that the bus driver had driven recklessly throughout the trip.
"The bus would make sudden swerves to the left and right, then abruptly brake! I was terrified," she said.
The second major accident occurred in Tegal, Central Java, when a collision between two buses claimed the lives of 13 people on Sunday.
Seven people are in serious condition and in intensive care.
The collision occurred between a Kramat Jati bus, plying the Jakarta-Semarang route, and a Tri Mulya bus, serving the Jakarta- Surakarta route.
Tegal Police chief Comr. Sriyono said the fatal accident occurred when the Tri Mulya bus, coming from Jakarta, slammed into the back of a truck.
After hitting the truck, the bus swerved uncontrollably into the middle of the road.
Then the speeding Kramat Jati bus hit it from behind.
"The Tri Mulya bus was flung several few meters and several passengers were thrown out of the bus.
Police said the drivers of the two buses fled the scene and remain at large as of Monday afternoon.
The third accident occurred in Brebes, Central Java, earlier on Saturday.
Six people were killed and 10 others injured when a bus rolled and landed in a river in Losari village, about 200 kilometers west of Semarang.
Brebes Police chief Sr. Comr. Heru Setiawan told The Jakarta Post late on Sunday that the bus, heading to Jakarta from Surabaya, was speeding when it approached a sharp bend in the road.
Heru blamed the bus driver for the accident.
"The bus driver did not reduce speed when approaching a sharp bend. The bus hit a tree and rolled and went into the river," he said.
The bus was transporting families and employees of state electricity company PLN to Jakarta for a gathering.
The injured were still being treated at Brebes General Hospital on Monday evening. (har/25/45/emf)