'I thought I was dead', says injured photo journalist
Injured journalist tells of being runover by police jeep (not this heading since we already run the story y'day-bsr)
JAKARTA (JP): "I thought I was dead," photojournalist Daniel Supriyono of Warta Kota daily said on Friday of being knocked down on Thursday evening.
Seconds after being hit by a red Suzuki Katana police jeep driven by a policewoman, Daniel said the first thing he thought of was the Sept. 24 attack by security personnel on student protesters on Jl. Sudirman, a few meters from the scene of the accident.
"A few seconds later, my memory went blank," the journalist told other members of the media at Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.
Daniel was knocked down by the Tourist Police jeep at 6:30 p.m. while trying to help reporter Agus Widjananto of Pro2 FM radio who suffered a head injury after being hit by a rock.
The accident occurred in front of the Jakarta Hilton International on Jl. Gatot Subroto, near the People's Consultative Assembly.
He suffered serious wounds to his left leg and arms.
"I still cannot move my injured leg," Daniel said.
Pictures of Daniel lying in the road with his leg partly crushed by the front right wheel of the jeep were run in his daily and another paper on Friday.
His camera and walkie-talkie were secured by another photojournalist.
Before being admitted to Pertamina Hospital at 10 p.m. on Thursday, Daniel was treated at a clinic inside the Jakarta Police Headquarters.
He shared an ironic story of his time at the police clinic.
"A policewoman came to me and offered me a nasi padang packaged meal. I thanked her and asked her to kindly put the meal on the table next to my bed.
"But a few minutes later, a male police officer came into my room, grabbed the package without asking permission and left," Daniel said, laughing.
He did not disclose whether he or his company would sue the police.
Crowd
Daniel and other witnesses have said the police jeep was speeding to pass through a crowd of student protesters when it suddenly struck Daniel from behind.
The vehicle was driven by Second Sgt. Ade, accompanied by Chief Sgt. Ariani.
Both tourist police officers were posted at the Hilton.
Ariani said they were on their way to the nearby Hotel Mulia Senayan when they came upon the crowd.
"We panicked when we saw the students on the streets armed with sticks and rocks. Unfortunately, we could not see one single officer in sight. We were afraid that the students would start pelting our car with rocks, so Ade stepped on the gas," Ariani said.
"Before we knew it, a man suddenly was under the jeep."
After the accident, Ade ran away from the scene of the accident, followed by several police officers who tried to protect her from the angry students and reporters.
She continued to run and bumped into parked motorcycle under the Senayan flyover. She fell on the street and injured her leg badly. Police officers carried Ade to a nearby medical van, which took her to the same police clinic as Wawan.
Ade continued screaming "I want to go back to the Hilton! Get me back to the Hilton!" as she was carried to the van. (asa/bsr/ylt)