Four Witnesses Describe the Wild Actions of a Driver Who Drove Against Traffic Like in a Movie
A driver’s reckless actions, driving against traffic and colliding with several vehicles on Jalan Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta, went viral on social media. Witnesses described the driver’s wild behavior as resembling a scene from a movie.
According to reports compiled by detikcom on Thursday, February 26, 2026, the incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon, February 25. Video footage shows the car driving in the opposite direction, colliding with several motorcycles and attempting to evade a crowd of angry citizens.
A group of citizens chased the car, smashing its windows. However, the car continued to maneuver back and forth in an attempt to escape, eventually colliding with a police car. After a short time, the car was surrounded and stopped by the citizens.
The Head of Traffic at the Central Jakarta Police, Commissioner Arry Utomo, stated that the incident occurred around 5:20 PM on Wednesday. The incident began when the car was traveling from north to south. “Upon reaching near the Lapangan Banteng bus stop, as officers attempted to stop the vehicle, it continued driving south,” he said.
Upon reaching Jalan Gunung Sahari IV, the vehicle turned in the opposite direction, proceeding onto Jalan Bungur Besar Raya. “Upon reaching Jalan Gunung Sahari V, the vehicle turned left, driving against traffic on Jalan Gunung Sahari V towards the east, until it reached the MBAL intersection, continuing on Jalan DR Sutomo towards the east,” he added.
Upon reaching the area around the Bintang Baru Hotel, the vehicle turned west. It then returned to the MBAL intersection and turned left onto Jalan Gunung Sahari, heading north.
The male driver, identified as HM (25), has been apprehended and is now a suspect, according to Central Jakarta Police Chief Commissioner Reynold EP Hutagalung.
The Head of Traffic at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Commissioner Komaruddin, stated that the suspect is being charged under Article 311 of Law Number 22 of 2009 concerning Traffic and Road Transportation.
- The Driver Remained Silent
Witnesses shared their accounts of the incident. One witness stated that the driver remained silent and unresponsive when apprehended at the scene. “(The driver) was still in the driver’s seat. I saw it myself; he didn’t resist. He didn’t say anything, didn’t mention anything. He was like a dazed person, stunned,” said Wawa (53), a resident of RT 10 RW 04, Pasar Baru sub-district, when interviewed at the scene on Thursday, February 26.
Wawa said that the driver was immediately secured by the police, while the three passengers were taken to a police car.
Wawa mentioned that the female passenger in the front seat appeared calm despite the chaotic situation. However, the female passenger in the back seat panicked as the crowd gathered at the scene.
“But what I found strange was that the woman didn’t seem scared or anything. She was calm, playing on her phone in the police car. It’s like she wasn’t affected at all, she seemed very calm,” she said.
- The Car Was Attacked by the Crowd
He ran to the location and saw a black car being attacked by the crowd. He said that the driver eventually had no escape after his car was trapped by several vehicles.
“He was looking for an opening. He hit this car, reversed. He hit this car on the left, reversed. Then there was another Avanza car, and he was trapped. He couldn’t go anywhere,” he said.
“He was trapped on the right by the Avanza car, and on the left by the busway, those black poles. At that point, many people were already hitting it,” he continued.
- Heard Gunshots
Another witness, Frangky (58), witnessed the incident directly. While relaxing at a post near the Ciliwung River, he was startled by the sound of warning shots and immediately rushed to the location.
“Suddenly, there was a commotion, and then the police fired warning shots. ‘What’s going on?’ We all ran over there,” he said.
- The Car Was Pelted
Upon arriving at the scene, he saw the crowd pelting and hitting the black car. Frangky, who was at the scene, immediately joined in trying to prevent the crowd from pulling the driver and passengers out.
“The position was already trapped like that, so there was a large crowd. My enthusiasm as a citizen was to ensure that there were no casualties, especially no violence. Basically, to protect, to prevent them from being attacked by the crowd.”