Bus crash in Central Java kills 16 on toll road exit in Semarang

# Bus crash in Central Java kills 16 on toll road exit in Semarang

Event date: December 22, 2025

A passenger bus crash in Semarang, Central Java, killed at least 16 people after the vehicle lost control on a toll road and overturned, according to AP. The crash happened just after midnight on the event date of December 22, 2025, on Indonesia's main island of Java, turning a routine overnight intercity trip into one of the country's deadlier road accidents of the month.

AP reported that the bus was carrying 34 people and was traveling from Jakarta to Yogyakarta when it entered a curved exit ramp at the Krapyak toll way in Semarang city. Budiono, a local search and rescue agency chief identified by a single name, said the bus struck a concrete barrier before rolling onto its side. The impact was forceful enough to throw some passengers from their seats and trap others against the bus body, complicating rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath.

Emergency responders reached the scene about 40 minutes after the accident, AP said. Six passengers were found dead at the site. Another 10 died either on the way to hospitals or while receiving treatment, bringing the known death toll to 16. Eighteen other victims were taken to two nearby hospitals. Of those, five were reported to be in critical condition and 13 in serious condition, underscoring the severity of the crash even for those who survived the initial rollover.

Television footage described by AP showed the yellow bus lying on its side while rescue workers, police officers and bystanders crowded around the wreck. Ambulances transported both survivors and bodies away from the toll road. The visual scene, as reported, pointed to a high-impact crash rather than a minor loss of control, with injuries spread across much of the passenger group.

Authorities said the cause was still under investigation. Central Java Police Chief Ribut Hari Wibowo said witnesses told officials the bus had been moving at high speed before the driver lost control. AP also reported that the injured driver was a substitute driver rather than the primary one assigned to the route. Though seriously hurt, he was still able to communicate with investigators while receiving medical care. Police planned to test him for prohibited substances, including drugs, as part of the inquiry.

The supplied evidence does not establish a final cause, so the official account remains limited to the sequence already described by rescuers and police: the bus entered a curved exit ramp, struck a barrier and overturned. Even within those boundaries, the crash highlights the risks that can accompany long overnight highway travel, especially when speed, route conditions and driver status all become part of the post-crash investigation.

For now, the clearest verified picture is of a heavily loaded inter-province bus that failed to navigate a toll-road exit and left a large casualty count across the dead and injured. The investigation cited by AP was continuing as authorities worked to identify victims and determine exactly why the driver lost control.