A dump truck crashes into a minibus in Indonesia, killing 11 kindergarten teachers
A dump truck crashed into a minibus on a downhill road in Indonesia's Central Java province, killing 11 people, all of them kindergarten teachers, officials said Wednesday.
The truck, loaded with construction materials, collided with the minibus before crashing into a house in Kalijambe village, in Purwerjo district. The minibus was carrying a group of teachers from Magelang district who were attending a funeral in Purworejo district, the local disaster management agency said in a statement.
'The truck allegedly lost control and hit the minibus,' said Andry Agustiano, the Purworejo police chief. He added the police officers immediately opened an investigation.
Several ambulances transported the bodies and other injured victims, including the truck driver and the owner of the house, to a nearby hospital.
Road accidents are common in Indonesia because of poor safety standards and infrastructure.
On Tuesday, a bus carrying 34 passengers sped out of control on and overturned in Indonesia's West Sumatra province, killing at least 12 people.
Last year, a bus carrying 61 students and teachers returning from an outing to a high school in Depok, just outside Jakarta, slammed into cars and motorbikes after its brakes failed, killing 11 students and injuring dozens of others.
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The documentary also raises the question of what happens to the money from speed camera fines, making the point that it is common misconception that it goes to the council. In fact, it goes directly to central government, to the Treasury, and is used towards general spending rather than ring-fenced for specific areas. Motoring journalist and transport campaigner Quentin Willson told the documentary: 'If the public saw that the revenue raised from speeding fines made a visible difference, then perhaps the public would be more behind them.' It is an issue that West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster is campaigning on. He wants the money raised from speeding fines in his region to be spent on road safety schemes there. During a consultation in 2023, 93 per cent of the public agreed that money raised from fixed penalty fines should stay in the region. So far, however, his calls – to both this and the previous government – have not resulted in a change of policy. One argument against allowing the income from speed cameras to be retained locally is that it might incentivise regions to install cameras to make money. Nottinghamshire Police said around 37,000 vehicles go through the junction where the Sutton-in-Ashfield camera is every day, so only a very small percentage are exceeding the speed limit. There had been at least one fatal collision and a number of serious injury collisions in the years before the camera was installed. But there have been no fatal or serious injury collisions since it was installed and the rate of offences have reduced to around 60 a day. The force also said work to cut back foliage to ensure all signage was visible was done before the camera went live, and the 'unusual step' was taken of putting out proactive communication to inform people of the new camera. 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