Three died, four injured in car crash

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A crash on the Muktiharjo toll road near Semarang, Central Java, left three high school students dead and four others injured after a government vehicle veered off the roadway on Sunday morning.

The car, registered to a staffer at the Semarang City Hall named Harini, reportedly spun out of control heading from Jatingaleh to Gayamsari at around 6 a.m., said Didik Wahyudi, an employee of the Semarang toll road.

The driver, identified as Rio Rizki, 16, lost control on a curve when he was trying to overtake a truck ahead of him. The car was reportedly traveling at 120 kph.

“The car fell sideways to the left as it rounded the curve,” said Didik, adding that the car rolled before crashing into a 2-meter deep ditch.

Didik said the seven teenagers in the vehicle were part of a group of students planning to take a short trip to Marina Beach.

The victims’ fellow students, who drove in two other vehicles, arrived on the scene and attempted to help their friends out of the wrecked car, but it was already too late.

Rio Rizky, 16, the driver; Arviko Akbar, 16; and Bayu kurnia, 16 were killed in the crash, while Tasya Audita Natasha Fira, M Ilham Fajar Mukti, Imelda Oktaviani and Dani Rahardian Mulyadi suffered minor injuries.

The three casualties were directly taken to Dr. Kariadi Hospital, while the surviving four students were taken to Sultan Agung Hospital for medical care.

Oka Trisnanda — the son of Harini, to whom the government car was registered — said that he and his schoolmates were heading to Marina Beach after taking part in a pre-dawn Sahur meal event.

Rio Rizki drove Harini’s official vehicle while Oka rode in a friend’s car.

“We were just coming from an event where we shared meals with residents along Jl. Mataram, Tawang, Pahlawan and KB Park,” Oka said.

Semarang Police’s traffic unit chief Adj. Comr. Jaladri said the accident was still under investigation.

Separately, an official at Semarang City Hall, Hendrar Prihadi, said that the use of an official vehicle for private purposes would be reviewed.

“We have yet to decide whether we will impose sanctions on the official car holder [Harini] on the misuse of the vehicle. We will re-examine the official vehicle’s permit,” said Hendrar.