Wedding tragedy as 13 killed when pickup truck carrying guests 'crushed by two lorries'

Indonesian authorities are investigating events

Ethan Davies

06:36, 13 Jul 2026

File photo of a motorway in Jakarta, Indonesia(Image: Getty)

More than a dozen people have been killed after a pickup truck carrying wedding guests was crushed between two lorries on a busy Indonesian motorway.

Officials confirmed the crash, on Indonesias main island of Java, killed 13 people and injured five others.

The crash occurred Sunday afternoon, July 12, on the northern coastal motorway near Kiajaran Kulon village of Indramayu regency.

The group was returning home after attending a wedding in neighbouring Parean village, local traffic police chief Undang Syarif Hidayat said.

He said the victims were traveling in an open-bed pickup truck when the vehicle slowed and stopped near a gap in the central reservation to make a U-turn on the motorway. It was then struck from behind by a wing-box truck traveling in the same direction.

The impact pushed the pickup into the opposite lane where it was hit again by another truck, Hidayat said.

The powerful collision hurled more than a dozen people from the pickup truck onto the highway.

Five survivors remain in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious, police said. Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.

Article continues below

Deadly traffic accidents are common in Indonesia, where overloaded vehicles, inadequate road safety measures and poor compliance with traffic regulations frequently contribute to fatal crashes.

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.

[Google Preferred Source Badge]

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions.