Police charge train driver over crash that killed 16 women in Bekasi
A long-distance train smashed on April 28 into a women-only car at the back of a stationary commuter train near Bekasi Timur station in West Java.
On April 28, a long-distance train collided with a women-only car at the rear of a stationary commuter train near Bekasi Timur station in West Java, killing 16 women and injuring 107 others, according to a National Transportation Safety Committee report. The National Police charged the train driver on Tuesday with allegedly failing to apply his brakes in time to prevent the crash.
The 37-year-old driver faces multiple charges, with a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison if convicted, according to Adj. Sr. Comr. I Dewa Putu Gede Anom Danujaya, a Jakarta police official.
Investigators concluded that the driver could have performed the emergency braking further away from the stalled commuter train. The report stated that the train responded to a green departure signal without the driver receiving a yellow signal indicating that the next signal ahead was red. The operation control centre took three minutes and 20 seconds to receive information about the incident from the commuter train driver, during which time the staff could not hear the driver clearly.
The report identified several factors contributing to the crash, including signalling and communication system failures. Additionally, the driver did not receive training in situations requiring emergency braking. The women-only car is a feature on commuter trains designed to protect women from sexual harassment while commuting.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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