Police to Submit Bekasi Train Crash Case File to Prosecutors

Police said the case file for the accident at the level crossing at Bekasi Timur Station will soon be handed over to prosecutors for trial. Head of the Traffic Crash Sub-Directorate at the Directorate of Traffic Law Enforcement (Ditgakkum) of Korlantas Polri, Kombes Pol Mariochristy P.S. Siregar, said the investigation into the incident was nearing completion. He noted that the legal charges in the incident are under five years. ‘Not long now; we have sent the file to the prosecutors because the charges are under five years, so the trial will be conducted directly at the Bekasi City District Court,’ Mario told a meeting of Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives on Thursday, 21 May. Mario explained that the investigation was carried out by the Metro Bekasi City Police Traffic Unit with guidance from Korlantas Polri. He said police had questioned a number of witnesses in the case, from the taxi driver and the electric train driver to the level-crossing gatekeeper and the sole authorised distributor (ATPM) of the taxi involved. In the same session, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi outlined the chronology of the fatal crash between the electric commuter train (KRL) and Argo Bromo Anggrek at Bekasi Timur Station on Monday, 27 April. Initially, Commuter Line 5568A (Jakarta-Cikarang) arrived at 20:34 WIB, one minute early at Bekasi Station. Then, train 116B Sawunggalih arrived in Bekasi at 20:35, five minutes late. Sawunggalih stopped at Bekasi Station to board passengers. ‘Sawunggalih departed at 20:37 from Bekasi Station. Sawunggalih passed Bekasi Timur Station at 20:39. A taxi stalled on the tracks,’ Dudy said. At that time, train 5181B (Cikarang-Jakarta) passed at 20:48 and collided with the taxi that had stalled. The incident drew a crowd of residents who witnessed the incident. ‘A crowd formed, with residents viewing the crash or the incident,’ he noted. Train 5568A Jakarta-Cikarang, which was eight minutes late, then continued and departed at 20:45 WIB. At 20:49 WIB, 5568A reached Bekasi Timur Station. The commuter train was nine minutes late. ‘The train did depart but stopped because of the crowd gathered in front to watch the incident,’ said Dudy. Argo Bromo Anggrek then traversed Bekasi Station at 20:51, three minutes earlier than schedule, at a speed of 108 km/h. A collision with 5568A occurred at 20:52 WIB. ‘Subsequently, the Ministry of Transport respects the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) and supports its independent, professional and transparent execution,’ Dudy said. (yoa/ugo)