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12 dead after passenger assaults bus driver
Fatal smash: An official of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) checks a badly damaged Safari bus on Monday following an accident on the Cipali toll road
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atal smash: An official of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) checks a badly damaged Safari bus on Monday following an accident on the Cipali toll road. The accident, which involved four vehicles, claimed 12 lives and left 45 injured.(Antara/Dedhez Anggara)
An altercation between an angry passenger and the driver of an intercity bus bound for Cirebon, West Java, led to an accident that left 12 people dead and scores of others injured on Monday. The police and the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) are investigating the accident.
A preliminary investigation into the accident has revealed that before the accident occurred, a passenger had tried to snatch a cell phone from the bus driver before the bus went over a road separator and hit three vehicles traveling in the opposite direction.
The accident at the 150 kilometer point on the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) toll road in West Java left 43 people injured, 11 severely. The casualties were rushed to nearby hospitals in Cirebon, the police reported on Monday.
The Safari bus registered in Semarang, Central Java, collided with a truck registered in Banyumas, also in Central Java, as well as a Mitsubishi Xpander and an Innova registered in Greater Jakarta, the police report said. The accident happened on the eastbound lane heading to Jakarta. There is no concrete barrier on the section of the road, only a narrow green strip.
At least three witnesses told the police that before the accident occurred, a male passenger, identified as Anshor, 29, allegedly got into a physical altercation with the driver, Roni Mart Tampubolon, 37. The driver was among the fatalities.
At least one witness said that Anshor, who reportedly survived the accident, tried to snatch a cell phone from the driver, Majalengka Police traffic unit head Adj. Comr. Atik Suswanti said.
Some other passengers said Anshor tried to take control of the wheel shortly before the accident happened at 1 a.m. on Monday.
“We haven’t reached a conclusion about what caused the accident. Some witnesses are still being treated in the hospital,” said West Java Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Trunoyudho Wisnu Andikoadi. Trunoyudho also said the 12 fatalities comprised two passengers on the bus, the bus driver, all six people in the Xpander and three people in the Innova. No fatalities were reported in the truck.
The National Police’s Traffic Police Corps head, Insp. Gen. Refdi Andri, meanwhile confirmed that the use of a cellular phone was a factor in the accident.
The accident happened only one week after what was a relatively incident-free mudik balik (reverse exodus) season.
According to a report released by the Transportation Ministry on Friday, while there was an 11.19 percent increase in motor vehicle traffic during the seven days before and after Idul Fitri, there was a 75 percent decrease in the number of accidents, as well as a 74 percent decrease in the number of fatalities. The Cipali accident increased the mudik traffic death toll by 8.8 percent to 149 from 137.
Transportation Ministry Land Transportation director general Budi Setiyadi said the KNKT would investigate the accident.
“The KNKT team is already at the location of the incident, with Achmad Wildan as the investigator in-charge and two other investigators, Zulfikar and Dr. Jalaludin Pasha,” KNKT spokesperson Anggo Nugroho said on Monday.
Transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno of Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang said the Transportation Ministry could do more to improve the safety on toll roads, especially by improving road separators.
“While the recent accident may have been caused by several factors, in my own experience, Cipali’s long straight lines can cause drivers to become sleepy and inadvertently cross the median strip,” he said. “Adding safety features such as convex road markings would help keep drivers alert and prevent such incidents.”
Early in June, a traffic accident involving three vehicles at the 119 KM point of the Cipali toll road left one traveler dead and one other injured. In December 2015, human error was blamed for an accident at the 137 KM marker of the Cipali toll road, which left 11 people dead.
— Karina M. Tehusijarana contributed to this story from Jakarta.
