Driver of ill-fated bus is our employee: Operator
Driver of ill-fated bus is our employee: Operator
JAKARTA (JP): A Semarang-based bus operator confirmed
yesterday that the driver of the ill-fated Jaya Bakti Super bus
was one of its employees.
Thirty-five people were killed when the bus, which was on its
way from Jakarta to the Central Java town of Purwodadi, collided
with a dump truck on the Cakung-Cikunir toll road just outside
Jakarta on Sunday night.
There had been some confusion earlier about the identity of
the driver, Wardiman, because he had been decapitated.
The driver's identification yesterday at the Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital also ended earlier speculation that
he was not an employee of the Jaya Bakti Super company.
Fellow drivers from the Semarang company came to the morgue to
identify the body.
One staff member, Daryadi, said Wardiman had been working with
the company for only one month. He declined to give further
details about his colleague.
Police said yesterday that forensic investigation had
confirmed an earlier medical report that the driver was drunk at
the time of the crash.
Jakarta Traffic Police Chief Col. Fachrudin Bahar said the bus
was speeding, Wardiman lost control of the vehicle and it hit the
dump truck, which was heading in the opposite direction.
"He must have been going more than 100 kilometers per hour,"
Fachrudin said, pointing out that the maximum speed limit on toll
roads was between 80 kms and 100 kms.
Mun'im Idris, a forensic doctor who examined the bodies at the
morgue, had earlier said that the driver's body smelled of
alcohol.
A preliminary test revealed that every cubic centimeter of the
driver's blood contained 80 milligrams of alcohol, enough to
severely affect concentration and motor skills. The final results
of the examination were expected late yesterday.
Families and relatives of those killed in the crash were still
arriving at the morgue yesterday. Most had identified their
relatives and arrangements were being made, with the help of the
bus company, to return the bodies to villages in Central Java.
Most of the victims came from Grobogan and Tegal.
Daryadi said the company was taking full responsibility for
the accident. Yesterday, 24 bodies had already been transported.
"Regular buses are also being provided for relatives who want
to attend the funeral," he said.
The bodies of four victims remained at the morgue yesterday
afternoon as no one had come forward to identify them.
A morgue official said that unless they were claimed today,
the hospital would have to bury them in Semper, North Jakarta or
in Pondok Ranggon, East Jakarta. (04)