2 dead, 4 hurt in Compostela accident

CEBU, Philippines —  Two died while four others were injured in a tragic accident along the national highway in Barangay Magay in the northern town of Compostela at around 5 a.m. Saturday.

SPO1 Arthur Ariate told The Freeman that the victims were riding a tricycle when they were hit head on by a mini bus driven by a certain Ricardo Rivera, Jr.

The force of the impact threw victims Mary Grace Tale and EJ Rose Halipa off the tricycle to the street where they were ran over by another mini bus driven by a certain Juan Davidon.

“Dili man ni blind curve ang area. Four lanes man gani ni mao nga nagpaturagas ra sad usahay ang mga driver pagpadagan. Kaning diver sa mini bus nga mibangga sa tricycle, ni-overtake ni siya og lain nga vehicle niya sa kakusog siguro sa iyang padagan, wala na siya kabawi maong nabangga sa kasugat nga tricycle,” Ariate told The Freeman.

Tale and Halipa did not make it to the hospital alive. The driver and other passengers of the tricycle, Evangeline Davidon, Wila Flor Mollena, and Sherry Mae Moreno suffered serious injuries.

The passengers are all employees of Mitsumi and were on the way to work when they met the accident.

The two buses were travelling to Cebu City. The drivers are detained at the Compostela Police Station pending the filing of charges against them.

Ariate said yesterday: “Sa pagkakaron, wala pa ma’y niduol nga family diri sa atua, masabot man nato kay ila pa man giatiman ilang kabanay nga nitaliwan.”

He said the operators and management of the buses, Julia Transit and Cadco Transport MPC, will shoulder the hospital and burial expenses.

Ahmed Cuizon, regional director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7, told The Freeman he will suspend the units covered by the franchises of Julia Transit and Cadco Transport MPC.

LTFRB will also issue a show cause order to direct the operators to explain why their franchises will not be cancelled.  The drivers, Cuizon said, will be made to undergo a drug test and road safety seminar with the Land Transportation Office.

"I have asked the insurance companies to extend financial assistance to the victims and their families," Cuizon also said. — /JMO (FREEMAN)