Three killed in head-on collision in Cirebon
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon
At least three people were killed and five others seriously injured in a head-on collision between a passenger bus and Toyota pickup in Cirebon, West Java, on Thursday.
Malik, 33, the bus conductor and Tanudirja, a resident of Cirebon, were killed instantly, while Suklan, 36, the pickup driver, died at Gunung Jati general hospital in the city.
Three victims seriously injured in the accident were the bus driver Wartono, Anisah from Kediri, East Java, and Ruklas, a resident of Cirebon, while two others have yet to be identified. All victims were taken to the hospital.
The local police said the collision, which took place in the city at 1:30 a.m., was caused by human error.
"The collision, which occurred on a thoroughfare in the city was inevitable when PO Dedy Jaya bus driver Wartono accelerated, while the pickup, carrying sound system equipment, arrived at high speed in the oncoming direction. The two were driving recklessly," Adj. Sr. Comr. Siswandi, chief of the City Police, told The Jakarta Post at the scene.
He added no vehicle was allowed to travel at a speed greater than 40 kilometers per hour in cities and the accident occurred because one of the drivers had violated the traffic ruling.
Nino Yohana, who witnessed the incident, said it was a major accident because the collision had sounded like a bomb explosion, waking up local people living in the vicinity.
"Due to the impact of the collision, the pickup broke into three pieces while the front of the bus was badly damaged and crashed into the front yard of a house," said Nino.
Syamsul Ma'ruf, a passenger who survived the accident, said many passengers had complained about the high speed of the bus once it had left Jakarta but the driver ignored them, accelerating instead. The bus was traveling from Jakarta to Bumiayu in the Central Java regency of Brebes.
The collision followed last week's bus explosion in Indramayu, some 60 kilometers west of the town, which left 13 dead and 17 others injured.
Two unidentified victims, killed in the bus explosion, were buried by Indramayu Police in a public cemetery in Indramayu on Thursday.
The bodies of 11 others were handed over to their relatives for burial soon after the incident last Thursday. But 17 people suffering serious burns were still undergoing medical treatment in several hospitals in Indramayu and Cirebon.
Chief of Indramayu Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Hadi Sutedjo said the local police had decided not to press charges as Nui, who was believed to be owner of the firecrackers that caused the explosion, was killed in the accident.
According to the law, both the bus crew and owner are subject to punishment because they shared responsibility for the accident.