Eight killed in Brebes traffic accident
Nana Rukmana and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Brebes, Central Java
A semitrailer slammed into a chartered Mitsubishi minivan early on Wednesday morning in the Central Java regency of Brebes, leaving eight people dead and 12 others injured.
All of the dead and injured were passengers of the minivan.
The Brebes Regency Hospital and the Brebes Police identified the dead as Nurkholik, 25, the driver of the minivan, Sarpin, 23, Rokhim Bidin, 29, Kasyamin, 26, Wasjan, 36, Nat Taryanto, 30, Kisno, 26 and Didi, 54. All eight were residents of Ketanggungan district, Brebes regency.
The 12 people injured in the accident are being treated at the Brebes Regency Hospital.
The accident, which occurred some 20 kilometers west of downtown Brebes, began when a truck driven by Sugiyani, 48, passed through Kecipir subdistrict in Brebes.
The empty semitrailer, owned by PT Krakatau Steel, was traveling west to Jakarta from the Central Java capital of Semarang.
As the truck passed through Kecipir at about 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a bus passed it on the left side, Sugiyani said.
"I was surprised and out of reflex I turned the wheel sharply to the right," the driver told police, adding that as a result the truck swung into the oncoming lane.
At the same time, a bus and the chartered minivan were approaching the semitrailer from the opposite direction. The bus was able to avoid an accident thanks to evasive measures taken by its driver, Sophian Hadi.
But the chartered Permata Indah minivan, which was behind the bus, could not avoid a head-on collision with the semitrailer.
Three of the minivan passengers died instantly. Five others passed away at the Brebes Regency Hospital and the Bhakti Asih Hospital.
The chief of the Brebes Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Purwanto, said the driver of the semitrailer, Sugiyani, had been named a suspect in the accident. The police suspect that Sugiyani may have been dozing behind the wheel.
One of the minivan passengers who survived the accident, Tarmidi, who is being treated at the Brebes Regency Hospital, said the minivan was carrying 20 people. All of the passengers were construction workers traveling from Jakarta to their home villages.
Tarmidi said he and his friends, all residents of Ketanggungan district in Brebes, were going home to celebrate the holy month of Ramadhan and the Idul Fitri holiday.
"In order to save money, we chartered the minivan. We left Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon," Tarmidi said.
The accident took place less than a month after a similar accident in Situbondo, East Java, on Oct. 9, in which 55 people, including 49 schoolgirls, were killed.