Future of kids certain despite father's death
Future of kids certain despite father's death
JAKARTA (JP): Bambang Udjiyanto, killed in a sedan-bus collision on Prof. Wiyoto Wiyono toll road near Jatinegara in East Jakarta on Saturday, apparently saved certain funds to finance his children's education.
Linda Lestari, the oldest of the victim's five children, said on Sunday that Bambang had entrusted money to his mother, who lives on Jl. Utan Kayu, also in East Jakarta.
"My grandmother told me after the accident that I shouldn't worry about the continuation of my study at university, since my father had entrusted certain funds to her in a bank account to finance my education.
"It was like a foreboding before he died," Linda told reporters at her family's house in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah housing complex in East Jakarta.
She said that her grandmother had yet to disclose the details since the accident had just happened.
The 17-year-old Linda, who has just passed her senior high school examination, said she intends to pursue a medical decree at the University of Indonesia (UI).
"I have joined the nationwide state university entrance test (UMPTN) and hopefully I will be accepted at UI," said Linda, an alumni of the city's top senior high school, SMU 8, in Bukit Duri area, South Jakarta.
Accompanied by her younger sister Yuli Minarti in the interview, she hinted that her grandmother had agreed to help pay her and her siblings' school fees.
Bambang, 46, and his wife A. Yani, 38, were among the five people, including Linda's youngest brother Jamchoir, who were killed on Saturday morning when a city bus hit the 1979 Toyota Corolla DX sedan traveling on the toll road.
The five passengers were heading north from Taman Mini to Utan Kayu, also in East Jakarta, to see a doctor about Jamchoir's circumcision, which was due to be carried out a few hours later.
Other dead victims were Bambang's brother-in-law Sriwandono, 33, and Trobus, 40, a man who had been hired by the family to take pictures of Jamchoir's circumcision day.
The five victims suffered extreme burns as fire immediately razed the sedan after the gasoline tank exploded in the accident. Fortunately, none of the 20 bus passengers were injured. The bus driver and his assistant fled the scene and are still at large.
Sadness shrouded Bambang's house, which is a few meters away from the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Park, as scores of guests, mostly friends of Linda, visited the family on Sunday to pay their last respects.
The remaining family members -- Linda, Yuli and Tri Wahyuni Udjianti -- will soon move to their grandmother's house on Jl. Utan Kayu.
"The current house will be returned to the government," Yuli said. (asa)