The Jakarta Globe, December 29, 2013.
A pickup truck carrying 32 people collided with a trailer in East Java on Saturday, killing 18.
“The accident was between a trailer truck and a pickup carrying 32 people,” said East Java Police spokesman Sr. Cmr. Awi Setiyono.
Awi said the accident took place Saturday afternoon on Jalan Raya Tongas in Probolinggo.
Fifteen people died at the scene and three died later, he said.
The occupants of the pickup were on their way from Probolinggo to Pasuruan to attend a funeral.
The victims are people that wanted to attend a funeral and rode a pick up truck. The truck was heading from Probolinggo to Pasuruan.
The truck was driving on the wrong side of the road in order to pass another car when it collided with a truck carrying a cargo of flour, police said.
All passengers were thrown from the pickup, and the 14 survivors were injured.
All victims were taken to Tongas Hospital in Probolinggo.
The driver, Slamet, 40, and two children were among those killed, according to state-run news agency Anatra.
East Java police chief Unggung Cahyono said that police had named Slamet a suspect despite his death.
Aside from negligence in racing to overtake other vehicles, the pickup also violated traffic markers and drove on the wrong side of the road, Unggung said, according to Indonesian news portal Detik.com.
He said the accident took place an a point where the road narrows unexpectedly.
Joint team of from the Surabaya Police forensics laboratory, East Java Transportation Office and East Java Traffic Police are still investigating the cause of the accident.
“This is an example for it not to happen again, so people can reflect on this accident,” Awi said, urging drivers not to carry passengers in the back of pickups.
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zo 29 dec 2013 - 5:32
