No car model is inherently douchey, but it’s become increasingly tricky for the Toyota Fortuner to shake off that reputation due to entitled and violent drivers.
A video taken in the early hours of Sunday has gone viral, depicting a road rage incident on Senopati road in South Jakarta. The incident even caught the attention of Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD, who shared the video on Twitter.
“Mister policeman, this apparently happened in Jakarta. It’s like a gangster movie. The public needs to know whether this conflict was over a debt or if they were sensationalizing it on social media. Either way, this can’t happen. It must be investigated,” the senior minister tweeted, mentioning the National Police’s Public Relations Department.
The video shows a black Fortuner ramming a small yellow Honda Brio before the driver of the former stepped out with an airsoft gun and a katana. The Fortuner driver did not fire any shots, but he smashed the Brio with the butt of the rifle and the blade before he returned to his car.
The two drivers — identified as 24-year-old GR in the Fortuner and rideshare driver named Ari in the Brio — reportedly met at the South Jakarta Metro Police Station on Sunday evening to be mediated by the authorities.
Manda Berinandus, Ari’s legal representative, said GR has apologized to his client. However, he said Ari is still seeking to press charges against GR.
“I don’t think an apology is enough because [Ari] is mentally affected and his source of income has been affected,” Manda said.
According to Ari, he had just dropped off a passenger at an office building in Senopati at around 2am. As he was driving back onto the road, GR’s Fortuner came from the opposite direction and blocked his access. The two drivers honked at each other until GR eventually gave way while cursing at Ari.
After Ari had driven away, GR caught up with him to attack and intimidate the rideshare driver, as seen in the video.
Police have not announced any criminal charges related to the incident.
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