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wo alleged bag snatchers were involved in a traffic accident on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Sunday, instantly killing one of them, said the police.

Kelapa Gading Police chief Adj. Comr. Ari Cahya said the two alleged robbers, identified as Iwan, 19, and Santri Alfarid, 21, were trying to evade their female victim. They were driving at full speed when the driver suddenly lost control of his motorcycle and hit a taxi traveling in the opposite direction.

Ari said Iwan, who was driving, died at the scene, while Santri survived but was beaten by a mob that had rushed to the scene.

'€œTheir damaged motorcycle was also destroyed by the angry mob,'€ he said as quoted by wartakotalive.com, adding that the front of the taxi was also dented and the driver was injured and lost consciousness.

The accident caused a traffic jam in the vicinity when curious drivers slowed their vehicles down to see what had happened.

'€œIwan'€™s body has been taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, while Santri was taken to the Kelapa Gading Police station for questioning,'€ said Ari.

Meanwhile, the robbery victim, Kusrini, 35, said she was on a motorbike with her husband Auladi, 36, after leaving a shopping center when two men on a motorcycle suddenly approached them and one of them grabbed her bag containing an ATM card and Rp 85,000 (US$6.23).

'€œWe were on our way home from La Piazza shopping mall in Kelapa Gading. We didn'€™t realize that the two robbers had followed us. At a traffic light, one of the robbers grabbed my bag and I shouted, '€˜Robber! Help! Robber!'€™'€ she explained.

'€œTraffic was heavy at the time, but they sped off to escape,'€ she said, adding that the robbers had put quite a distance between them when they hit the taxi.