Nine injured in highway accident

JAKARTA (JP): At least nine people were seriously injured when a speeding city bus packed with passengers smashed into six vehicles on the Cawang-Grogol highway in Pancoran, South Jakarta, on Saturday.

Passengers of the ill-fated bus said the crash was caused by the inability of the bus driver to control the vehicle when he suddenly noticed that cars in front of him were not moving.

According to data at the City Traffic Police Directorate, the victims were mostly passengers of the Mayasari P-16 bus plying the Kampung Rambutan-Tanah Abang route.

They were identified as Atika, 24, Chaerul, 26, Theo, 29, Haryanto, 26, Syamsuddin, 41, Rustam, 20, Sigar, 30, Kosasih, 50, and Nazidra, 54.

After the accident, the driver, whose identity is known, immediately fled the scene and is still at large.

The six vehicles, consisting of two jeeps, three sedans and a minibus, were actually involved in a pileup before the bus plowed into them. (bsr)