A social media challenge went horribly wrong. Trying to accomplish a TikTok challenge called the Angel of Death, an 18-year-old Indonesian teen got killed by a truck.
He and his friends were taking a video for TikTok in which some of them have to jump in front of a running truck without getting hit.
Unfortunately, the boy did not move in time to prevent the accident. He was dragged by the lorry and later pronounced dead. The video shows how he went under the truck on impact. Authorities say he died instantly.
Aksi nekat remaja menghentikan truk di Jl. Otista, Karawaci, Kota Tangerang telah memakan korban, Jumat (3/6/2022) siang.
"Baru kemarin dirazia, udah buat onar lagi. Mereka kumpul 10 orang lebih. 1 meninggal tertabrak kontainer," ujar warga yang mengirim info melalui Whatsapp. pic.twitter.com/tipWrl30sf
— About Tangerang (@AboutTNG) June 3, 2022
They were a group of three males in Tangerang, Banten, the video on Twitter shows.
Kompas, an Indonesian news outlet says those attempting the challenge are only considered successful if 1) the person jumps in front of a moving truck and 2) it comes to a stop before hitting the person.
This challenge is not new in Indonesia and the teen is not the only one who got killed trying the challenge.
2021 Death
In 2021, almost a year ago, in the North Cikarang District of Bekasi Regency, a group of eight teenagers took part in the challenge.
But three of them were hit because the lorry driver failed to use their brakes in time. One of the teens, a 13-year-old boy with the initials FA, died, while another was injured.
According to Commissioner Argo Wiyono of the Bekasi Traffic Police, this is not the first time FA has created dangerous content like this, based on information from the victim’s friends.
According to one of FA’s friends, FA purposefully created content like this in order to go viral and become famous.
More recent incidents
On June 2, two boys in Bandung, West Java, attempted the same challenge.
A 14-year-old who did not get away in time ended up in the hospital with a skull fracture. His teeth are also said to have been shattered as a result of the accident.