Probe into Cikunir bus crash continues

Probe into Cikunir bus crash continues

JAKARTA (JP): The police investigation into Sunday's Cakung-
Cikunir toll road crash, which claimed the lives of 35 people, is
continuing and no suspects have been named.

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang told The Jakarta
Post yesterday that detectives and forensic officers were still
in the process of collecting evidence and information to clarify
the events leading up to the accident.

"We also still need more data and information from forensic
experts at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital and the
surviving victims as well," he said.

Police will question traffic experts from the toll road
management company, PT Jasamarga, or the Public Work Office for
details on the road conditions and the collision, he said.

"The information is vital if we are to prove whether or
not the ill-fated Jaya Bakti Super bus driver was the one
responsible for the collision and the death of the passengers."

The ongoing investigation of the collision -- between a bus,
dump truck and gas truck in East Jakarta -- was almost 60 percent
completed, he said.

Blood test

The bus driver, Riyadi Mulyono, reportedly exceeded the
maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour before the crash, which
killed 35 people and hospitalized at least 15 others.

Aritonang said the police received a report on Wednesday from
Cipto's forensic experts about the blood test conducted on
Riyadi's remains.

"It stated that every cubic centimeter of Riyadi's blood
contained 80 milligrams of alcohol," he said, a level which would
have impaired Riyadi's driving.

Preliminary inquiries have so far named Riyadi as the main
suspect in the case, Aritonang said.

Riyadi allegedly overtook the gas truck without even
considering the possibility that another vehicle may have been
coming from the opposite direction, he said.

"When all the evidence proves his negligent actions were the
main cause of the accident, the investigation on Riyadi will be
closed because he is already dead and cannot be punished for what
he has done."

"However, this cannot be used as an excuse for police to stop
their investigation now," he said. "We will continue until
everything is clear," he said.

The city's Land Transportation Control Agency has agreed to
reduce the maximum speed for motorists on the Cakung-Cikunir toll
road from 100 kilometers per hour to 80 km/h.

"The reduction will only apply to the Cakung-Cikunir toll road
because it is still a two lane road with no barriers in between,"
Aritonang said. (cst)