Five people killed on Jl. Sudirman crash

JAKARTA (JP): Five people died early yesterday morning in a car crash on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta. Two of them were believed to be pedestrians who were hit just before the car smashed into a tree and a street lamp on the median strip.

Four of the five victims died instantly while the other died in the emergency room of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

They were Sari Mulyati, 20, Alphin Sudjaja, 20, and pedestrians Hendra, 20, and Asep Kurniawan, 26.

Asep was believed to be a transvestite who was crossing the street when he was hit by the car. Artificial breasts and fake eyelashes were found at the scene.

The other victim was Ardiles, 16, driver of the blue metallic Genio Civic sedan.

Another driver Erwin, who together with his unidentified friend were unharmed by the incident, said he and Ardiles were involved in a race heading toward the National Monument (Monas) when the accident took place about 2:30 a.m.

"When Ardiles tried to pass me on my left side in the fast lane, I sped up... and the accident took place," Erwin said.

Chief Sgt. Suyanto, who was at the scene, said the driver was driving at a very high speed.

"You can see from the damage to the car. The driver must have hit the tree at over 100 kilometers an hour," Suyanto said.

The collision caused Ardiles to swerve to the right but he lost control and smashed into the tree and street lamp, he said.

Deddy, who identified Alphin's body at the morgue, told The Jakarta Post that Alphin's father had died a week earlier.

Ardiles' relatives, who went to the morgue yesterday, refused to comment on the deaths.

Meanwhile, some transvestites from the Taman Lawang red-light district in Central Jakarta also went to the morgue yesterday to see if they could identify the victim.

None of them said they knew Asep, although it was believed he operated around the Monas square in Central Jakarta. (04/cst)