Six killed in two road accidents

JAKARTA (JP): Six people were killed and four severely injured in two separate accidents on Jl. Letjen S. Parman and at the Kebon Jeruk toll gate in West Jakarta early yesterday morning.

The first three victims died after they were squeezed between two speeding Kopaja minibuses on Jl. Letjen. S. Parman, a police officer who requested anonymity said.

The three were hanging from the doorway of the fully-packed Kopaja B-88 plying on the Kalideres-Kebon Jeruk route when it collided with another vehicle belonging to the same company, the officer said.

They were identified as Eyong Effendi, 23, the minibus conductor; Nikmat Khoir, 18, a third year student at the state- run Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 1 Islamic school in Joglo, West Jakarta; and Ismanto, 16, a first-year student at Muhammadiyah High School in Gelong Baru, also West Jakarta.

The minibus collided side-on at high speed with a Kopaja B-95 which it was trying to overtake, he said.

The officer said that Supriyanto, the driver of the B-95 bus, gave himself up to the police and is being held at Pesing police station, while the driver of the B-88 bus fled the scene.

The officer explained that the two buses had been racing each other since Jl. Daan Mogot.

The bodies of Eyong, Nikmat and Ismanto were taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for postmortem examinations.

Three other people died and four more were injured when an M- 12 minivan skidded at Kebon Jeruk toll gate early yesterday morning. The driver lost control of the vehicle when he tried to stop after mistakenly driving up to a blocked gate at high speed.

Harsono, a toll gate attendant, was quoted by Antara as saying that the minivan, which was plying the Kota-Senen route, drove toward the gate at high speed at 00.30 a.m.

"Unfortunately the minivan approached the closed gate without reducing speed. The driver became aware of his mistake only after the van was too close to the gate to avert disaster," he said.

The driver turned sharply to the right then lost control. The vehicle rolled over several times before coming to a stop. (ivy)