MetroMini Strikes Again, Leaving 7-Year-Old Dead and Mother Injured
Jakarta. A MetroMini bus hit a mother and her son in West Jakarta, leaving the mother injured and her son dead, and prompting City Hall to call for stricter regulations on the bus fleet.
The bus, serving the route between Grogol in West Jakarta and Ciledug in Tangerang, Banten, was reportedly speeding along Jalan Kembang Kerep in North Meruya at 6 a.m. on Wednesday and crashed into an electricity pole, hitting the two victims who were standing by the roadside.
“The [deceased] victim is identified as [7-year-old] Azam Flamboyan, while his mother, Muntiasih [35], is now being treated at the Permata Hijau Hospital in West Jakarta,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. M. Iqbal said on Wednesday.
In response to the accident, Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama instructed the Jakarta Transportation Office to inspect the operating licenses of all MetroMini buses.
"Since many of the MetroMini buses have already been banned from operating, logically there should be fewer of the vehicles on the Jakarta streets. They aren't likely to pass safety standards since many of the buses are outdated,” Basuki said at City Hall on Wednesday.
Basuki said inspections of 1,600 MetroMini buses suggest the operators circulated spare parts between the buses in order to pass the requisite safety tests. Additionally, drivers also share safety standard permits, or at times forge their certificates in order to continue driving.
“Therefore I am investigating it. I would also like to be informed about the vehicle plate numbers of the banned MetroMini buses. I think it would be better to stop them operating altogether though as they do not have proper documentation and good management,” Basuki said.
Andri Yansyah, the head of the city transportation agency, said his office would revoke the operating permits of any public transportation operator found to have violated traffic regulations or caused road accidents.
“We will also check if the [public transportation] drivers are lawfully allowed to drive or not. If the [non-permitted] drivers are found to be driving, I will ask the [Jakarta transportation] office to revoke the licenses of both the legal and non-permitted drivers,” Andri said on Wednesday.
It remains unclear whether the roadworthiness of the MetroMini bus involved in Wednesday's accident was a primary factor in the collision.
On Dec. 6, a MetroMini bus was struck by a commuter train on Sunday as it attempted to cross a railway crossing in West Jakarta, killing 18 of the 24 people on board. The incident mirrored that of another West Jakarta crash on Nov. 28, in which a TransJakarta bus collided with a train at a railroad crossing.
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