3 deadly accidents mar Bogor holiday weekend

Theresia Sufa ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Bogor   |  Tue, 10/07/2008 9:58 AM  |  City

Three people died and 26 others were injured in two separate traffic accidents in Bogor regency early Monday.

The injured are now being treated at Ciawi Hospital.

The first accident happened at 3 a.m. when a bus with failed brakes hit two cars while headed downhill along the Leuwimalang Cilember road in the Mega Mendung resort.

The bus was filled with residents of Pondok Aren, Tangerang, on their way home after visiting Cibodas Botanical Gardens on Sunday, the last day of the Idul Fitri weeklong holiday.

The bus driver, Mahmudi, 57, died in the accident; 26 passengers who were sleeping at that time were injured.

No injuries were reported among the drivers and passengers of the two cars hit by the bus.

One injured passenger, Nursaadah, 27, said 120 people had participated in the excursion -- housewives, teenagers and a Koran recitation group. They had hired two buses.

She said a tire of the ill-fated bus had exploded when they were entering the Cianjur area at about 9 p.m. They had called the bus operator and asked for a replacement bus, but the company had sent them a mechanic instead.

"The bus was ready to go at about 2:30 a.m. We were sleeping when the accident took place," she said.

Another accident took place at 5:25 am in Caringin district, Bogor regency.

Halimi, 24, and Sahrul, 18, were killed while changing a tire on their Kijang minivan when a speeding truck hit them.

"The truck driver, Zainal Abidin Sebayang, was sleepy at that time," said head of the Bogor Police traffic accident division, Adj. First Insp. Abdul Karim.

Previously on Saturday, two people died after the motorcycle they were riding skidded and rolled over to avoid a dog crossing Jl. Raya Sukabumi in Caringin.

Witnesses said Deni Supriadi, 24, and Agus Gunawan, 29, were both residents of Ciampea district on their way to Sukabumi to visit relatives celebrating Idul Fitri.

They were buried in a local cemetery in Ciampea on Sunday.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.