Residents Witness Reckless Driving in Central Jakarta: Vehicle Rammed Like a Toy

A driver of a black car, identified as HM (24), was driving recklessly and against traffic, causing collisions with several vehicles in the Gunung Sahari area of Central Jakarta. Residents who witnessed the incident saw the car being attacked by the crowd, with people hitting it with helmets and paving stones.

Frangky (58), a resident of RT 10/RW 04 Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, said that the car had stopped briefly to turn around near the Pasar Baru Timur bus stop before being attacked by the crowd. Frangky, who was at the scene, immediately tried to restrain the crowd to prevent them from pulling the driver and passengers out of the car.

“The situation was already tense, and the crowd was getting bigger. I, as a resident, wanted to ensure that no one was injured, especially from violence. My main goal was to protect them from the mob,” Frangky said when interviewed near the scene on Thursday (February 26, 2026).

Frangky quickly approached the car and stood next to the passenger door. He prevented the crowd from pulling the driver and passengers out.

“I was there, and I told them not to take them out of the car, and for the police to take them away in the car. Because if they were taken out, the crowd would definitely attack them,” he explained.

At the same time, Frangky saw two other passengers in the back seat. He said there was a child and a woman.

“In the car, as far as I know, there was the driver, a woman next to him, and in the back, there was a woman with a small child. They all got out,” he said.

Frangky then helped the police escort the woman, the child, and another female passenger to a patrol car. Meanwhile, the driver remained in the car and was secured by the police.

“If they had been taken out, I don’t know what would have happened. The crowd was already angry. It was like something out of a movie, like Las Vegas. I thought, this guy must be rich. He was driving like it was a game, crashing into things,” he said.

Chronology

The incident occurred on Jalan Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday (February 23) afternoon. The vehicle was initially spotted by officers driving recklessly in the middle of Jakarta’s afternoon traffic.

“The officers asked him to pull over, but he didn’t comply. The officers followed him as he turned onto Jalan Gunung Sahari IV. He then turned onto Gunung Sahari IV,” said the Head of Traffic at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Kombes Komarudin.

Instead of slowing down, HM accelerated. The car sped along the streets and was pursued by officers.

“On the small road, his high speed was captured on the dashcam of a patrol car. He then turned left towards Bungur, and the most serious incident occurred when he entered Gunung Sahari V, which is a one-way street. Many vehicles were almost hit because there were many motorcycles, and he was still driving at high speed,” he said.

At the Pasar Baru intersection, HM entered Jalan Budi Utomo, driving against traffic in the right lane. Officers pursued the driver, who was driving recklessly and at high speed.

“The officers stopped at the intersection, turned around in the middle of the road, and returned to the intersection. Then, at the intersection, he turned left, but officers were already there, and he almost hit one of our officers. He then turned towards Ancol, but he still didn’t want to stop,” he said.

From there, the driver continued towards Ancol and was pursued by officers. However, not far from there, he encountered traffic and then drove against traffic again, hitting several vehicles.

“The officers continued to follow him. When he reached the Ancol area at the Pintu Besi traffic light, he was in the middle of a red light and there was a queue of cars. He may have been blocked by the queue, but he then turned around and went back towards Pasar Baru, on the same lane, not changing lanes. This is what was captured on camera,” he concluded.