Six dead, 27 hurt as overloaded bus crashes, flips in Yogyakarta
Six dead, 27 hurt as overloaded bus crashes, flips in Yogyakarta
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta
At least six people were killed and 27 others injured when an
overloaded bus overturned while traveling at high speeds early on
Friday in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, survivors and police said.
Five of the victims died at the scene of the accident, which
occurred at about 12:30 a.m. All five were hanging out of the
door of the bus. The sixth fatality was identified as the bus'
30-year-old driver, Purwadi.
Seven passengers are being treated at Muhammadiyah Hospital in
Yogyakarta for serious injuries, including broken bones and
concussions. Twenty other passengers were treated for minor
injuries and released.
The Kopata minibus was carrying more than 40 passengers at the
time of the accident. All of the passengers were residents of
Trimulyo village in Jetis district, Bantul regency, returning
from an Islamic gathering in neighboring Sleman.
"The bus, which should have carried a maximum of 26 people,
was loaded with over 40 passengers. Some of the passengers were
hanging out of the door and were pinned under the bus when it
overturned," said Sleman Police's traffic chief, First Insp. Edwi
Wuryanto.
He said the accident occurred when the bus attempted to turn
at the Palem Gurig three-way intersection in Gamping, Sleman.
According to survivors, the bus was speeding through the
intersection to beat the traffic light, which was about to turn
red.
The driver lost control of the vehicle, which overturned after
hitting a roadside barrier, Edwi said.
Muhyono, the 23-year-old assistant driver who was at the wheel
of the bus at the time of accident, said he tried to pick up
speed going through the intersection because the bus had to make
it up a steep incline after the turn.
"I tried to slow down but the brakes did not work. Then, the
bus hit the roadside barrier. I don't remember what happened next
because I lost consciousness," he said.
Muhyono, who was among those injured in the accident and is
still being treated at the hospital, said he had a driver's
license. However, officers investigating the accident deny this.
Sleman Police have yet to name any suspects in the fatal
accident.
Crashes are often blamed on recklessness and overloading. In
one recent accident, 11 women traveling to an Islamic prayer
meeting and a three-year-old boy died when a passenger train hit
their pickup truck at a railway crossing in Kendal Rejo village,
Talun district, Blitar regency, East Java, on Sept. 5, 2004.
On the same day, four people were killed and 18 others injured
when two buses and four cars were involved in a pileup in
Magelang regency, Central Java.