Six family members die when bus hits 'becak'

Apriadi Gunawan and Nana Rukmana, Medan/Cirebon

Two separate accidents occurred on Tuesday night in Labuhan Batu regency, North Sumatra, and Cirebon in West Java. Nine people were killed in total, six of whom were from one family.

Chief of the Rantau Prapat Police traffic division Adj. Comr. Edi Sudarsono said on Wednesday that the six were killed and another family member severely injured after their motorized becak was hit by a bus. The accident took place on Jl. Sisingamangaraja in Labuhan Batu, some 450 kilometers south of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.

Police are searching for the driver of the bus, Jalatin Tarigan, who fled after the incident, according to Edi.

Witnesses said the accident happened at 8 p.m. Sudirman was driving his becak toward Rantau Selatan district, when the Medan Jaya bus tried to overtake him. It hit the back of the becak, dragging it dozens of meters forward.

Novi, 20, Sudirman's sister, survived the accident.

According to Edi, Sudirman, his wife, Mami, and their four children, Risti, 9, Akbar, 4, Wulan, 6 and Edo, 2, were killed. Novi is being treated at Rantau Prapat Hospital. The six were buried on Wednesday.

Four people were also killed in a similar accident in Deli Serdang regency, also in North Sumatra, on Sunday, when their car was hit by a speeding truck. Another family member was severely injured in the accident on Jl. Jamin Ginting.

Separately in Cirebon, a trailer truck slammed into a motorcycle on Jl. Bendungan on Tuesday night. The three teenagers who were riding the motorcycle were killed.

They were Sutrisno, 20, Tommy, 17 and Wahyudin, 17, all residents of Bendungan Blok Wage subdistrict.

Chief of the Cirebon Police traffic division First. Insp. Kasiyana said on Wednesday, the accident happened as the motorcycle sped along the middle of the road east from Cirebon city to Losari district.

Suddenly, a car overtook the motorcycle, which apparently surprised the motorcyclist causing him to stop.

The motorcyclist had not been aware that a trailer truck was approaching him from behind. The truck hit the motorcycle, killing the teenagers on impact.

The accident caused traffic jams on the road, which is located on the busy northern coastal highway of Java island.