Four killed in road accident

Four people were killed and three others seriously injured when an inter-city bus struck a sand truck from behind on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road on Thursday.

The crash occurred when the inexperienced bus driver lost control of his vehicle when one of its front tires blew out, Kompas reported.

The dead and the injured were all passengers of the Pribumi Raya bus. They were thrown from the bus upon impact.

The dead victims were identified as Een, Epon, Buchori, all from Bandung, West Java, and Wawan, the conductor of the ill- fated bus. Wawan lived in the small West Java town of Garut.

The three injured passengers now being treated at the UKI hospital in East Jakarta are Agus Toni, Oten and Wiwin.

The bus driver, Suhendar, fled the scene when the accident occurred and is still at large.

Suhendar had been working for the Bandung-based bus company for just two days, Kompas reported, quoting police sources.

The daily said Suhendar was assigned to drive the bus because the regular driver was sick. (bas)