Police, military team still unclear on cause of crash
Slamet Susanto and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Purwokerto
The cause of a crash between an armored vehicle and a public transportation pickup (not a minibus as earlier reported) that killed 18 people in Temanggung regency, Central Java, remained unclear on Sunday as a joint police and military team continued the investigation into the deadly accident.
Temanggung Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widiyatno said the team had questioned several witnesses of Saturday's crash but was still in the dark as to its cause.
"We have yet to question a key witness, the driver of the armored vehicle, because he is being treated at a hospital for serious injuries," he said.
The driver of the pickup, was among the 18 people killed in the accident that also injured seven others when the pickup rammed into a French-made armored vehicle in Temanggung.
The local police and military have not made any arrests.
Sixteen of the victims were passengers of the covered pickup, while the two others were soldiers.
Police said the pickup was overloaded, with 22 people on board instead of the usual 12 when the accident took place at 10 a.m. in Ngipik village, Pring Surat subdistrict.
Widiyatno said the joint team would continue to question other witnesses to find the cause of the accident.
"If it is negligence, we will process it according to procedures. But if the tank's driver is found guilty, the case will be handed over to the military police command," he added.
Under existing law, soldiers involved in crimes are tried in a military tribunal, even for common offenses that have nothing to do with the armed forces.
Lt. Col. Agus Subroto, spokesman for the Diponegoro military command overseeing security in Central Java, said his office was ready to take responsibility if its soldiers were to blame in the crash.
"Whoever is guilty must be held responsible for the accident, including the TNI (the Indonesian Military)," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said the company or individual that operated the pickup should also be held responsible if the investigation found the driver of the pickup at fault.
"Whatever is the result of the investigation, we will accept it," Agus added.
He said that the bodies of the 18 victims had been brought home by their families for burial at their respective villages.
"Today (Sunday) we, along with Diponegoro military chief Brig. Gen. Salim Mengga and Temanggung Regent Toto Ary Prabowo visited the bereaved families of the victims and gave donations," Agus said.
The families received Rp 5 million (US$588) in cash and 100 kilograms of rice each from the military, he added.
Mengga was quoted by Antara as saying that the armored vehicle, a 1963 AMX-13, had just been repaired in neighboring Yogyakarta and was on the way to its base in Kebumen district at the time of the accident.
The engine and the brakes were fine when the collision took place and the tank was traveling behind another tank at a speed of some 20 kilometers per hour as procedures required, he said.
The local military commander said the armored vehicle that was in the front had already given a signal with its headlights to the pickup, to warn it that there was another vehicle behind.