Baby girl dies, 12 hurt in two road collisions

CEBU, Philippines - A one-year-old baby girl was killed while 12 others were injured after four vehicles were involved in two collisions at Bago City, Negros Occidental, last Tuesday.

Police identified the lone fatality as Jen-jen Villanueva of Purok Lacson, Barangay Dulao, Bago City.

Superintendent Arnel Arpon, Bago City Police chief, said  nine people were injured from the first collision, involving a truck and a tricycle, while the second, involving another truck and a bus, killed the baby and hurt three others.

In the first crash, at the highway in Barangay Calumangan at around 10:25 p.m., Arpon said the tricycle, driven by Hernane Campos of Barangay Napoles in Bago, collided with the Mitsubishi Canter, driven by Marlon Jabagat of San Jose in Sipalay City.

The strong impact caused the tricycle to turn upside down and damaged the right front portion of the truck.

Injured were Jabagat and the tricycle passengers: Emmanuel Vido, 30; Aljon Pateño, 20; Elamar Martizano, 22; Randy Batuigas,23; Angelo Fernandez, 26; Heart Francisco, 18; and Joynamae Ambid ,22; and a 17-year-old girl.

Fifteen minutes later, at the opposite lane, Arpon said an Isuzu double-cab truck, driven by Jose Jerry Juano, 38, of Barangay Dulao in Bago, crashed into the Ceres bus, driven by Teody Bautista, 36, of Quezon City.

Arpon said the truck hit the left rear portion of the bus, which was on the side of the road after it unloaded a passenger. The impact of the collision killed the baby, who was at the passenger seat with her mother, Jayve Mae Villanueva, 17, who was also hurt, along with the baby’s father Joven, 24, and grandmother Jocelyn, 46.

All victims were rushed to a hospital, Arpon said, adding that the four drivers were detained at the Bago City Police Office, but were released Wednesday morning. Investigation is still going on now, he said.  (FREEMAN)