Illustration of the carom effect in a hit-and-run case involving a cement mixer truck as the final vehicle to hit the victim.

progresifjaya.co.id, JAKARTA – The hit-and-run traffic accident involving two four-wheeled vehicles and one motorcycle on Jalan Diponegoro, South Surabaya, East Java, on October 3, 2025, has resurfaced. The family of Rusmiati, the victim who died in the hit-and-run, is questioning the clarity of the investigation being handled by the Surabaya Police Traffic Unit.

According to the investigation notification letter, the basis for the investigation involving the cement mixer truck owned by PT Merak Jaya Beton with license plate number W 8964 UR, driven by Syamsul Huda, as the vehicle that struck Rusmiati and killed her is Article 310 paragraph (4) in conjunction with Article 106 paragraph (1) of Law Number 22 of 2009 concerning Road Traffic and Transportation. This is further supported by eyewitness accounts, which indicate that the victim, Rusmiati, was lying in a pool of blood in front of the cement mixer truck.

Meanwhile, another vehicle that also hit the victim was untraceable because no witnesses could remember its license plate. There was also no electronic tracking system (E-TLE) or CCTV installed at the scene to record the hit-and-run incident.

Referring to Article 310 paragraph (4), which is one of the investigation’s key elements, the penalty under this article is a maximum of six years in prison if the victim dies due to driver negligence.

The investigation into this case began on November 12, 2025. However, as of mid-February 2026, the police have not released any clear results. The victim of the hit-and-run has long been buried. Furthermore, the cement mixer truck belonging to PT Merak Jaya Beton, which struck Rusmiati and killed her, was also only on loan. Furthermore, the truck driver, Syamsul Huda, who theoretically faces six years in prison for causing Rusmiati’s death, was not detained but was only required to report.

Sunggul Purba, the husband of the deceased victim, Rusmiati, expressed his deep disappointment with the Surabaya Police Traffic Unit, which handled the case. He stated that, from the announcement of the investigation on November 12, 2025, to February 13, 2026, there had been no further information regarding the progress of the investigation. Only silence accompanied the family’s grief after the loss of the victim.

“The cement mixer truck belonging to PT Merak Jaya Beton that killed my wife was only on loan, not under arrest. The driver, who faces six years in prison, is only required to report the incident, not named a suspect,” Sunggul Purba told the author with an annoyed snort.

“And PT Merak Jaya Beton, the owner of the cement mixer truck, has been sitting idly by without an apology or condolence money as a form of empathy for us. What’s this? The current slogan is The Polri for the People. I mean, the people with money and deep pockets,” he continued, critically.

Sunggul also emphasized that, as the husband of the victim who died in a hit-and-run accident and whose case is already under police investigation, he is entitled to receive a Notification of Investigation Progress (SP2HP) from the Surabaya City Polrestabes Traffic Unit. Furthermore, he has evidence that his wife was the victim and is evidence in this case.

Furthermore, according to Sunggul, the cement mixer truck driver, Syamsul Huda, should have been named a suspect and detained, as he faces a sentence of more than five years. Meanwhile, PT Merak Jaya Beton, the company that owns the truck, should also act fairly by apologizing and showing empathy by providing financial compensation to the driver who hit the victim, resulting in his death.

“I want all high-ranking police officers to review this case and reconsider the slogan they introduced. As a common citizen and a victim, i suspect there was a substantial money game between PT Merak, the giver, and the Surabaya City Polrestabes Traffic Unit, the recipient, in this case. This suspicion is logical, not just an accusation,” asserted Sunggul, a retired Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) officer, firmly.

Restorative Justice

The Kapolrestabes of Surabaya City, Kombes Pol Luthfie Sulistiawan, had not responded to requests for comment on this case as of the publication of this article. This contrasts with Indonesia Police Watch (IPW). Responding to this incident, the Chairman of the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW), Sugeng Teguh Santoso, expressed his concern and regret over the seemingly closed and unclear investigation process. The victim’s family needs certainty and clarity and has the right to receive a written notice of termination from investigators.

“The Kapolrestabes of Surabaya City, Kombes Pol Luthfie Sulistiawan, as the highest-ranking officer, must be responsible for taking a firm stance to complete the investigation into this case, which appears to be lacking transparency. He must also pay attention, as the victim’s life is precious. Remaining silent and appearing to allow this to happen will hurt the victim’s family and lead to disappointment. Public trust in the Polri service could also decline if this information is widely reported by the media,” Sugeng Teguh Santoso told the author.

He continued, however, that this incident could also have been a car crash. The victim, Rusmiati, was first hit by the first car, which immediately fled, then was thrown into the path of a cement mixer truck and hit again, lying in a pool of blood in front of the truck. In this situation, Sugeng continued, the first thing investigators must do is work diligently to locate the first car that fled the scene.

If the reason for the absence of electronic traffic control (E-TLE) or CCTV recordings in the area of the crime scene (TKP), investigators should be able to trace it from the E-TLE recordings installed on the road beyond the TKP area.

He also stated, that in investigating this case, the criminal law theory likely used by investigators is the Conditio Sine Qua Non, often called the von Buri Causality Theory or the Equivalence Theory.

This theory firmly states that every condition of an act cannot be eliminated, or conditio sine qua non, because there is another act that occurs as a result. This demonstrates a cause-and-effect process or causality.

And as Sugeng previously stated, investigators from the Surabaya City Polrestabes Traffic Unit are likely also using the conditio sine qua non theory as the focus of their investigation to find and apprehend the perpetrators of this crime.

The carom effect is an example of the causality of the conditio sine qua non theory, as is the alleged hit-and-run collision involving two cars that resulted in the death of victim Rusmiati.

“It’s very likely that the cement mixer truck driver, Syamsul Huda, hasn’t been detained because the driver of the first car that hit him hasn’t been found. So, based on the conditio sine qua non theory, investigators still consider him a victim, but he’s required to report the incident. He hasn’t been named a suspect based on legal certainty,” said Sugeng Teguh Santoso.

“However, to address the disappointment and grief of the victim’s family, IPW also firmly recommends that the Surabaya City Polrestabes Traffic Unit use a restorative justice approach to resolve the case. PT Merak Jaya Beton, as the owner of the cement mixer truck, must reconcile with the victim’s family and provide appropriate compensation for the victim’s life. This also serves to soothe the bereaved family’s grief,” he added. (Bembo)