Police Interrogate Driver of Truck in Deadly Crash witg Train

Jakarta (Antara) - Police have interrogated the driver and assistant driver of a fuel truck that crashed with a passenger train in Jakarta's southwestern outskirts of Bintaro on Monday. "We interrogated them last night," spokesman of the Jakarta metropolitan police Snr. Comr. Rikwanto said here on Wednesday. The police questioned the driver and assistant driver of the fuel truck at Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta where they were being treated for burns, he said. Rikwanto said the interrogation was related to the chronology of the deadly crash, which left seven dead and 79 injured. The police also sought answers about the actions of the driver and assistant driver while crossing the railway and the reaction of the crossing's wardens, he said. However, Rikwanto did not disclose the result of the investigation. He said the health of the driver and assistant driver, who suffered from burns, was improving. Meanwhile, head of the state railway company's operation region 1, Isnadi, blamed the truck driver for the deadly crash on Monday. "The fuel truck driver did not comply with the rules. He crashed through the crossing's bars," he said. He added that the siren had been sounded five to seven minutes before the train reached the crossing. "The train left the railway station five to seven minutes before reaching the crossing and was moving at a speed of 70 km per hour," Isnadi noted. While the crossing's safety bars were being lowered, the fuel truck crashed through the bars, which caused the crash, he said. "At 10.53 a.m., the train left Serpong station. At 11.07 a.m.-11.09 a.m. it left Pondok Randji station and at 11.15 a.m., it hit the fuel truck. The crossing bars had only been partly lowered when the truck hit the train," Isnadi added. (*)