5 killed, 22 injured in road accidents

Five people were killed and 22 others were injured in three separate vehicular accidents in Valenzuela City and Bulacan.

Investigation showed that the first accident happened in the General T. de Leon area of the North Expressway in Valenzuela. Reports indicated that around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, an owner-type jeepney driven by Wenceslao Leaño Jr., 58, a retired Western Police District policeman of Sulong, San Jose, Meycauayan, Bulacan, was bound for Bulacan when it suddenly swerved to the left and into the opposite lane.

The jeep collided head-on with a KIA Pregio driven by Mario Reginoso, 60, of 20 Marunong St., Diliman, Quezon City.

Leaño was thrown several meters away and his vehicle turned turtle due to the impact. He was rushed to the Manila Central University Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Police have yet to determine what caused Leaño’s vehicle to swerve to the opposite lane.

Meanwhile, four people were killed while eight were wounded, one critically, when a speeding south-bound Isuzu Elf van lost control and collided with two other vehicles in Barangay Burol, Balagtas, Bulacan, at Km. 32, along the North Expressway.

Investigation conducted by the Philippine National Construction Corp. showed that the incident happened at around 1:30 a.m.

An Elf van driven by Angelino Mendoza of San Dionisio, Parañaque, crossed the center island and sideswiped a Mazda van driven by Nelson Alberto of Biñan, Laguna.

The van continued moving until it collided head on with an oncoming public utility jeepney driven by Alfredo Balboa of 890 Villarosario, Angeles City, Pampanga.

Mendoza and Balboa were killed on the spot. Both the Isuzu Elf and jeepney were a total wreck.

Alberto, along with the other injured passengers identified as Alvin Tamayo, Nelson and Maritess Granadosina, Remedios Candinio, Ronaldo Gamot, Oscar del Rosario, and Leonor Angeles were rushed to the Malolos Provincial Hospital.

Two unidentified women died while being treated at the hospital. Authorities said that most of the injured were passengers of the jeepney.

Valenzuela police said that 14 people sustained minor injuries in the third accident which happened early yesterday morning at the southbound lane of the expressway in Mapulang Lupa, Valenzuela.

Investigation showed that at around 4 a.m., a Mitsubishi Canter lost control and fell on its right side. The vehicle remained on the road for an hour.

A passenger filled Nissan Panther bus driven by a certain Ernesto of Saint Joseph, Urami, Bataan, sideswiped the Canter at around 5 a.m.

According to case investigator SPO1 Avelino Moises Oida of the Valenzuela Traffic Enforcement Unit, the bus swerved to the left and hit an Isuzu passenger jeepney driven by Dionisio Gutierrez, 40, of Bucot Aliago, Nueva Ecija.

Unable to control the bus, Yumang hit an Isuzu pick-up driven by Salvador Tambor, 33, of 31 M. Gregorio St., Canumay, Valenzuela.

Yumang Gutierrez, and Tambor were rushed to the University of Santo Tomas Hospital along with the other injured passengers identified as Tambor’s wife, Gregoria, Cecilia San Jose, Germinia Feodoro, couple Lucio and Editha Peña, Rodel Ygot, his wife Melva, and children Mary Joyce, 5, Rommel, 10, and Roel, 15. – Nikko Dizon