Workers heading for holiday trip killed in crash
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
At least seven people were killed and 15 others severely injured when a speeding truck lost control and smashed into a bus coming from the opposite direction at kilometer 31.5 of the Jakarta- Merak toll road in Cikupa, Tangerang, on Saturday morning.
Bodies of the dead were sent to the Tangerang General Hospital morgue, while the injured passengers were rushed to the Al-Qadr Hospital in Karawaci, Tangerang.
Tangerang Police chief Sr. Comr. Rusli Heidiyaman said that the accident took place at about 7 a.m., when a front tire of a Fuso truck from Jakarta suddenly exploded.
He said the driver, Mardi, lost control of his speeding truck, crossing the toll road separation section and smashing into an Arimbi passenger bus with plate number B7323XB, which was also traveling at high speed from the direction of Merak.
The bus, which usually serves the Jakarta-Merak route, was carrying some 50 passengers who were employees of PT Inti Karya, a company that produces active speakers in Tangerang.
"The employees were on their way from their factory in Pasar Kemis to Cisarua, West Java, for a holiday tour," he said.
He said the truck hit the front and the right side of the bus, killing and injuring passengers sitting on that side.
The dead victims were Arimbi bus driver Dulgani and six passengers identified as Indra Gunawan, Lianti, Fatulloh, Muntaser, Acep S. and Jumirah. They mostly sustained injuries to their heads and chests.
"The bus driver died and the truck driver is still being treated at Al-Qadar Hospital suffering broken bones," Rusli said, adding that the both the driver's assistants were not seen at the accident site.
Siti Mutaidah, 30, the wife of Muntaser, said that she did not join the tour because she was tired after working at the night shift. She works for the same company as her husband.
"When I left for work this morning, I only wore slippers and I forgot to put on my shoes that I was holding in my hand. Then I lost the shoes," she said at the morgue, suggesting that wearing slippers and losing shoes may have been a portent of her husband's imminent death.