Only Tested on Parking, Fatal Bus Driver at Krapyak Was Immediately Told to Carry Passengers
The driver of bus operator PO Cahaya Trans, Gilang (22), has been named a suspect in the fatal accident on the Krapyak Toll Road in Central Java, which claimed 16 lives. A newly revealed fact shows that the Cahaya Trans bus driver was only tested on steering the bus in and out of the garage.
“The company owner did not conduct proper driver training, where the procedure carried out was merely having the bus driver park the bus in the garage,” said Semarang Metropolitan Police Chief Commissioner M Syahduddi on Wednesday (18/2/2026).
During his familiarisation training, Gilang immediately drove the bus carrying passengers. He had already driven the bus with passengers on board several times.
“The driver was directly ordered to drive the bus with passengers without any prior testing,” Syahduddi explained.
Syahduddi urged transport operators to prioritise passenger safety, particularly as the 2026 Eid al-Fitr homecoming season approaches, when large numbers of people will be using public transport, especially buses.
“We urge all owners, transport operators, and route holders to provide safety guarantees to passengers who will use their transport services, given that in the coming weeks there is predicted to be an increase in public transport users during the Eid al-Fitr homecoming period. We hope that traffic accidents causing fatalities among large numbers of passengers will not happen again,” Syahduddi said.
“We remind all public transport and transport service owners to strictly comply with regulations, standard operating procedures, and applicable laws. What we have conveyed today is evidence of our commitment to providing a sense of justice for all parties in connection with the accident that occurred some time ago,” he added.
At the same occasion, police named Ahmad Warsito (AW), President Director of PT Cahaya Wisata Transportasi, as a suspect. AW was deemed to have failed to carry out his supervisory function over the operations of PT Cahaya Wisata Transportasi.
“Secondly, the suspect knew that the bus did not have a route permit and was unsupervised, yet still granted permission for it to operate, despite staff and the company’s head of operations having reported that the bus did not possess a route permit or a monitoring card,” Syahduddi said.