2-year-old boy loses both parents in multi-vehicle crash in Philippines
A 2-year-old boy lost both parents in a multi-vehicle crash that occurred at an expressway toll plaza in Tarlac City, Philippines, on Thursday (1 May).
The deceased coouple — a 34-year-old husband and a 32-year-old wife who were both engineers — were driving north to Baguio for vacation, when a bus hit a van in the payment queue at the toll gate, which then hit their compact SUV.
The SUV then crashed into a truck, which hit another compact SUV.
The two-year-old boy only sustained minor injuries, secured in his car seat. He has since been sent home with relatives, Rappler reported.
Source: What The Park on Facebook
Four children among 10 casualties
A total of 10 people — including four children — were killed in the collision.
Besides the couple, eight van passengers died, and only the driver survived. They were on the way to a religious youth camp.
Source: La Paz Pdrrmo on Facebook
Meanwhile, 35 were injured in the bus, including the driver and conductor.
“The impact was so severe that the victims were totally crushed inside the two vehicles sandwiched [between the bus and the truck]”, Marvin Guiang, head of Tarlac Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, told GMA Network.
“They couldn’t identify most of the people who died,” Lt Col Santos added.
Source: La Paz Pdrrmo on Facebook
Bus driver allegedly dozed off behind the wheel
Following a directive from the Department of Transportation (DORT) to suspend its entire fleet for 30 days, Pangasinan Solid North Transit announced that it has stopped all of its operations
The bus company said it said it sympathises with those affected by the incident in a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday (3 May). It expressed:
As a bus operator, we’ve always strived to continuously provide the best for our passengers. However, some uncontrollable factors get even the best of us that lead to this isolated case.
It emphasised that it understands the severity of the incident and will be “responsible and accountable for it”.
The bus driver was taken into police custody following the incident.
According to Lt Col Santos, the driver claimed he dozed off behind the wheel. Subsequent alcohol and drug tests also came out negative, despite him initially refusing the drug test.
The driver — whose license has been perpetually revoked — may face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides, multiple physical injuries, and multiple damage to property, ABS-CBN reported.
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Featured image adapted from Roxanne Solleza on Facebook, La Paz Pdrrmo on Facebook.
