Eight die, 22 injured on tollroad

JAKARTA (JP): Eight people were killed and 22 seriously injured in a five-vehicle pileup on the Jakarta-Cikampek tollroad Tuesday afternoon.

The chain collision started when the Raya intercity bus lost control in the lane heading to Cikampek and ended up in the lane heading to Jakarta.

A.D. Panjaitan, the head of the Jakarta-Cikampek tollroad office, said yesterday the Raya bus, with seven people aboard, crossed the median strip and hit a speeding bus with 52 PT Pembina Galindra (PG) employees, an Isuzu truck, a Mitsubishi truck and a BMW sedan.

Madjid, the driver of the PG bus, was killed at the scene, while the Raya bus driver broke his leg.

The other victims were Imam Sugiarto, 23, Achmad Ripai, 30, both PT Pembina Galindra employees, Titin, 2, The other four were not identified.

PG's employees were seriously injured. They were rushed to the Mitra and Budi Lestari hospitals in Bekasi and Karya Medika hospital in Cibitung, while the dead bodies were sent to the Bekasi General Hospital. (05/sur)