Three killed in traffic accident

BOGOR: A bus hit a motorcycle carrying a family of four in Cileungsi, Ciawi, Bogor, on Sunday night, killing the parents and their son, while leaving the daughter in a critical condition.

The accident took place at about 9:30 p.m., when a Merdeka bus on the Bandung-Jakarta route hit the motorcycle ridden by Udin, 35, a resident of East Bekasi, according to Adj. Comr. Ipik Kusuma of the Bogor police traffic accident unit.

Udin, his wife, Nami, 25, and their nine-year-old son, Iim, were killed instantly. Their four-year-old daughter, Juli, was seriously injured.

An employee the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) hospital, told Antara that as of 1:30 p.m. on Monday, no one had come to claim the bodies. He said that Juli was hospitalized in Jonggol Public Health Center and not in the PMI hospital.

The bus driver, Ateng, 54, was being held by Bogor police for alleged negligence.

It is common practice here to see entire families riding on the back of a motorcycle, apparently unaware of the danger in which they place themselves, especially as children are often not provided with a crash helmet. --JP