Four Korean tourists injured; man dies in separate mishap

CEBU, Philippines - Four Korean nationals were injured while a former military man died in separate vehicular accidents.

In Lapu-Lapu City, four Korean nationals who are in Cebu for a vacation landed in the hospital instead after they met a road accident yesterday dawn in Sitio Masiwa in barangay Marigondon.

The accident awakened the residents in the area due to the impact when the Nissan Sentra with plate no.JCU-400 overturned, hitting the gate of a residence and a store.

Based on the investigation conducted by the Lapu-lapu City Traffic Division, a certain Kim Min Geon, 28, single and temporarily residing at Pacific Villa in barangay Pajac drove the said car.

Geon reportedly served as a tour guide to the four visiting Korean nationals who booked their travel agency.

 All the victims were reportedly having fun before the incident took place but on their way to their hotel and while traversing Sitio Datag in barangay Marigondon, Kim failed to notice that they were traveling through a curve in the road.

It was reportedly too late for him to notice and was unable to control his steering wheel.

 Because of this, the vehicle overturned several times and eventually hit the gate of a house owned by Priscilla Espinosa, 39, and a store owned by Analyn Espinosa,38.

 Among those injured were Ko Man Sung, 37; Park Hieun, female, 30; Kim Hoyoung, male, 32; and Park Hyoeun, female, 28, all from Chonam, South Korea.

 All four victims were immediately rushed to Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City. One of the female victims sustained fractures in her left thigh.

 Police later learned that the driver was under the influence of liquor as shown in the result of liquor test and is now detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Police detention cell pending the filing of appropriate charges against him while both the Espinosas are asking for P100,000 each for their damaged properties.

Meanwhile, Orlando Villacampa, 54, and a former member of the military died after hitting a parked dump truck loaded with sand while driving his son’s motorcycle along the national highway in Sitio Sambagan, Barangay Pandacan, Pinamungajan town last Tuesday morning.

Villacampa was declared dead on arrival at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

The victim was onboard a Rusi motorcycle bearing YB-5010 owned by his son when he hit the dump truck, bearing plate numbers YDN-577 which was parked along the road.

PO2 Mariano Suarez Jr. said the dump truck driver, Olimpio Soterio, 28, of Barangay Magdugo, Toledo City, cannot be blamed for what happened because it was Villacampa who hit the dump truck.

Villacampa was traveling from Barangay Poblacion towards his residence. He was holding a spare tire in his right hand while the other hand was controlling the steering wheel. He reportedly tried to overtake a trisikad causing him to run over a hump in the road and lose control of the motorcycle.

He allegedly tried to maneuver back to his lane but hit the parked dump truck instead.

Suarez said there is an ongoing road improvement in the area making the road smaller. He pointed out that the road is manageable but drivers have to be cautious.

Villacampa reportedly suffered severe injuries as he was pinned beneath the truck. The incident caused heavy traffic in the area.

Soterio was detained at the Pinamungajan police stockade but the victim’s family is planning a settlement with the driver and the owner of the truck. — (FREEMAN)