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)