CALAMBA CITY, Philippines – A 51-year-old businesswoman and her daughter were killed after their car was rammed by a Philippine National Railways (PNR) train in Barangay Halang here last Monday night.
Superintendent Joel Permito, Calamba police chief, identified the victims as Anabella de Guzman and her 24-year-old daughter Kristine, both residents of Barangay Segunda Pulo, Lumban.
The De Guzmans own the St. Vincent de Paul Montessori in San Pedro, Laguna.
Permito said the victims were in their silver gray Toyota Altis with license plate PEQ 387 and were on their way home when their vehicle was hit by the train at around 9:45 p.m. at the railroad crossing, about 50 meters away from the police station and the Calamba City Municipal Hall at Barangay Halang.
Witnesses told police investigators that the younger De Guzman was driving the car and did not notice the warning horn from the incoming PNR train that was bound for Albay, Bicol.
The train hit the car at the front portion as the front seats were smashed.
Police said bystanders and responding policemen immediately conducted rescue operations and brought the victims to the nearby Calamba Medical Center, but they died while undergoing treatment.
Witnesses said the driver of the Toyota car apparently did not hear the horn and did not see the incoming train in the dark railroad crossing.
The rain also affected visibility in the area.
Bystanders said the train operator did not stop the train and continued the trip but PNR officials have surrendered the operator to authorities.
PNR officials said the train operator, who was not immediately identified, was already suspended.
Police said charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide would be filed against the operator.
Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II said that they plan to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the control cabs of PNR trains to help pinpoint responsibility for train mishaps in the Manila-Albay line.
Roxas, in a press briefing yesterday at the Department of Transportation and Communications head office at the Columbia Tower in Mandaluyong City for the launch of the “Ligtas Byahe: Kwaresma” program for the Holy Week break, said that CCTV cameras could also be installed at the PNR rail crossings.
With the CCTV footage, Roxas said that there would be objective records of mishaps that occur along the PNR line and help pinpoint responsibility.
Jun Ragrario, PNR general manager, who was present at the press briefing, said that the driver of the concerned PNR train had been found to have observed all the precautions when trains approach railroad crossings, such as slowing down to a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour, and continuously flashing his lights and blowing the train horn, to no avail.
Roxas said that for this particular incident, the probe into the mishap will turn into another “he said, she said,” and noted that in the case of the driver of the private car who perished, she will not be able to defend herself.– With Rainier Allan Ronda