Bus accident kills 4 people, injures 5 others
Bus accident kills 4 people, injures 5 others
JAKARTA (JP): At least four people were killed and five others
injured when a speeding, overloaded minibus hit a shelter at a
bus stop in Tanjung Duren district, West Jakarta, yesterday
morning.
Among the injured commuters was a Navy officer, who was
waiting at the bus stop on Jl. S. Parman.
The Kopaja 86 minibus, plying the Lebak Bulus (South Jakarta)
- Kota (West Jakarta) route, overturned after colliding with the
shelter.
The driver, who was caught by bank security guards while
trying to run from the scene, later claimed that the minibus'
brakes were malfunctioning.
A witness, Syahbudi, said that the minibus was packed with
passengers and traveling at high speed when it approached the
slow lane alongside the bus stop.
"First, it struck a man crossing the street before it crashed
into the shelter and wiped out the people standing there,"
Syahbudi, who was on a public bus behind the Kopaja, said.
The driver managed to flee from the angry crowd but his
conductor was captured.
Alert security guards from nearby Dewa Ruci Bank, grabbed the
driver, later identified as Endang Furqon, 36, after he managed
to tear off his driver's uniform and leap across a ditch in front
of the private bank.
During preliminary questioning by local traffic police, Endang
blamed the vehicle's malfunctioning brakes and said that he was
only driving about 40 kilometers per hour.
"I didn't know that the brakes didn't work properly.
"I panicked after I hit the first victim. But I became more
afraid when I realized that I had hit some other people.
"That's why I decided to escape instead of being beaten by the
angry mob."
But Endang, who became a driver two weeks ago after working
for years as a conductor, promised to take responsibility for the
accident.
The four casualties were sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo General
Hospital in Central Jakarta for a postmortem examination, while
the five injured victims were admitted to nearby Sumber Waras
General Hospital.
Three of the four casualties died on the spot while the
fourth, identified as Bambang Edi, an employee of Mal Taman
Anggrek shopping center, died a few hours later.
The first three victims were identified as Sudarji, 37, of
Kemandoran, Kebayoran Lama, in South Jakarta; Zaenudin, 29, of
Gg. Gebang, Tanjung Duren in Grogol; and Almer, 42, of Jl. Kramat
Batu, Gandaria in South Jakarta.
A source at Sumber Waras General Hospital said the injured
victims were identified as Navy First Lt. Sunarto, Ismiyanto,
Rinaldo Asri, Djaya and Iin Marlina.
"Most of them suffered severe chest, head and abdominal
wounds," she said. (04)