The man who was behind the wheel of a bus that slammed into eight other vehicles in Jimbaran last week, leaving one person dead, has turned himself in to police in East Java after fleeing from the scene of the accident.
Bus driver Abdul Aziz, 42, surrendered to police in Surabaya, West Java on Tuesday, saying that he had run away from Bali for fear of a mob beating.
Vigilantism isn’t uncommon in Indonesia, where mobs have a tendency of forming and delivering street justice, especially in cases of mugging.
Denpasar Police Chief Hari Purnomo confirmed Aziz’s surrender on Wednesday.
The fateful accident took place in Jimbaran on April 13, on the steep Jl. Uluwatu in front of Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park when the bus was going south to north, downhill, and the brakes failed. Aziz crashed into six cars, two motorbikes, and stopped finally when plowing into a power pole.
Aziz, who is originally from Banyuwangi, East Java, immediately raced back to his boardinghouse in Denpasar, then directly took a bus to Banyuwangi.
“In Banyuwangi, the perpetrator met his wife. After that he fled to Surabaya,” Purnomo said, as quoted by Bali Post.
Following the accident, police formed a special team to hunt the bus driver and searched for him in Banyuwangi.
“It’s possible that the perpetrator knew he was being sought by our officers. So, the perpetrator surrendered to police (in Surabaya) and our officers picked him up there,” Purnomo said.
It is unclear at this time what Azizi will be charged with.
Jasa Raharja Bali has donated IDR50 million (US$3,630) to the family of the deceased, Ida Bagus Putu Adnyana, while the motorcyclist injured in the crash will be given IDR20 million (US$1,450), according to reports.
