No charges are being pressed against a Mercedes driver who allegedly blocked the path of an ambulance on a highway, after the former issued a public apology over the incident.
Dash cam footage taken from the ambulance on March 12, 2022 has gone viral recently, showing the white Merc, driven by a man identified by his initial D, ahead of the ambulance on the Tangerang-Merak toll road. The ambulance, which was carrying a pregnant woman who was going into labor, had turned on its emergency siren.
The Merc occupied the fast lane and did not immediately give way for the ambulance. Instead, it merged left only when there was a slower car hogging the fast lane ahead of it.
In its attempt to overtake the Merc, the ambulance also merged left, brushing against the left side mirror of the luxury car in the process.
The Merc followed the ambulance all the way to the Tangerang General Hospital. The footage ends as the D steps out of his car to confront the ambulance driver.
After having identified the D, the Tangerang Metro Police yesterday facilitated a mediation session between the two drivers instead of pressing charges for violation of traffic laws against the Merc driver.
“Praise God, the two parties agreed to resolve this issue amicably, and it ends here,” Tangerang Metro Police Chief Zain Dwi Nugroho said yesterday.
“[D] did not intend to block the path of the ambulance.”
Speaking to the press, D said he tailed the ambulance to the hospital to ensure that it was actually carrying a patient and did not abuse its emergency siren to make way for itself.
Under Indonesia’s traffic law, blocking the path of an emergency vehicle is a crime punishable by up to one month in prison or a fine of IDR250,000 (US$17.41). If blocking said emergency vehicle puts the life of a patient in jeopardy, the punishment could be raised to one year in prison or a fine of IDR3 million (US$208.87).
