Four Air Force personnel killed in car accident

Four Air Force personnel killed in car accident

The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Four Air Force officers were killed and three others seriously
injured early on Monday after their car collided with a bus in
Tasikmalaya regency, West Java, police said.

The crash took place at around 3:30 a.m. on Jl. Raya Jamanis
in the Rajapolah area as the victims were returning home after
attending the wedding of a comrade in Yogyakarta.

The victims were traveling in a Mitsubishi L-300 minivan.

The four dead were identified as First Lt. Agus Budiono,
Second Lt. Agus Budiman, Second Lt. Iwa Yudhistira and Second Lt.
Taswin Feri Budhiana.

The three injured were First Lt. Santoniar, First Lt. Evian
and Second Lt. Muryadi. They are being treated at a hospital in
Tasikmalaya.

All seven victims were attached to the Husein Sastranegara air
base.

Tasikmalaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Elan Subilan, quoting
eye witnesses, said the official Air Force minivan was traveling
at high speed along the middle of the road.

At the same time, a passenger bus serving the Bandung-Banjar
route suddenly appeared from the opposite direction.

"The driver of the bus, operated by the Merdeka company, had
tried to avoid a collision by swinging out into the left lane.
But the crash was unavoidable," Elan added.

He said the police had detained the bus driver, identified
only as Heri, 36, for questioning.

However, Elan said Heri would probably not be charged over the
accident as he had done his best to avoid the collision.

Husein Sastranegara air base commander Col. Djamhari said his
command had accepted that his four officers had died in an
accident.

"For the time being, we are leaving it up to the police to
probe the case and find those guilty," he said.

Djamhari said the bodies of the four soldiers had been
returned to their respective hometowns for burial -- Taswin to
Tasikmalaya, Agus Budiono to Surabaya, Agus Budiman to Nganjuk,
and Iwa Yudhistira to Bandung.