7 dead in road accidents

MANILA, Philippines — Road accidents have spiked as people flock to the provinces for the Holy Week, prompting transport and police officials to remind the public about the perils of reckless driving and poor vehicle maintenance.

Seven people were killed and four were injured when a 10-wheeler truck plowed through a roadside eatery and five vehicles in Taal, Batangas early yesterday.

The accident occurred exactly a week after 19 people died and 21 others were injured when a passenger bus fell into a ravine in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

Police said the 10-wheeler truck laden with sugarcane was traveling down on a sloping road in Taal when it lost its brakes. It slammed into a parked truck also carrying sugarcane, which in turn crashed into the roadside eatery and five parked vehicles in Barangay Carsuche.

Seven people were pinned to death. They were identified as Ramir Aguado, Melecio Atienza, Jennifer Atienza, Chelvier Aninon, Susan Hombre, Babylyn Gamo and Ricardo Tabugon.

Taal police chief Senior Insp. Recaredo Dalisay said the four injured – identified as Orly Capuso, Diana Uy, Danilo Madiclum and Bayani Muñoz Torres – were brought to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Dalisay said Alejandro Villena, the driver of the truck that lost its brakes, surrendered to the Tuy municipal police.

The driver of the parked truck, Sherwin Copu, surrendered to the Taal police, accompanied by barangay officials.

A desk officer at the Taal police said Villena gave a different account of the accident.

“He told us he left his truck with the engine still on along the roadside to buy coffee at an eatery,” the desk officer said in a phone interview.

Villena claimed he had just alighted from the truck when the vehicle inexplicably moved, causing the accident.

An hour later, seven people were injured after a passenger bus rear-ended a jeepney along Aguinaldo Highway in Barangay Niogan, Tagaytay City, Cavite.

Police said the jeepney driven by Louie Manalo suddenly stopped along the highway to let a passenger off when the BLTB bus hit the rear end of the vehicle.

At the same time, four people were hurt in a separate vehicle smashup along the northbound lane of the North Luzon Expressway in Pampanga yesterday.

Officials said most motorists are in a hurry to take advantage of the long weekend, neglecting to take precautionary measures to travel safely.

Francisco Dagohoy of NLEX Corp. said the first smashup occurred near the Dau Exit.

Dagohoy said the incident involved several vehicles failing to slow down due to the large volume of traffic ahead.

Another smashup occurred near the Angeles Exit, where three vehicles were involved in a collision that injured two still unidentified passengers in one of the cars, he said.

Road accidents are alarmingly high in the country due to poor traffic law enforcement, the dilapidated conditions of vehicles and a lack of safety features like signs and railings, especially in far-flung provinces. – Ed Amoroso, Arnell Ozaeta, Ramon Efren Lazaro