4 dead, 3 hurt in school van crash

Four people were killed while three others were injured when a school service van bus slammed into a Metro Rail Transit (MRT) post in Mandaluyong City yesterday.

Killed were driver Elser Lasaga, Alfie Torion, George Inobia Jr., and 15-year-old Joseph Ungko. Lasaga and Torion were pinned in the front seat.

Inobia and Ungko were seated at the back and were thrown off the vehicle upon impact. They landed on the ground head first.

Injured were Rodel Bello, 22; Ronald Gascon, and Michael Ampuan.

Police said the men were on their way home after a drinking bout in Quezon City. The white Isuzu Elf 250 with license plate TXA 684 is a school service vehicle for students of La Salle-Greenhills in San Juan.

Doctors at the Polymedic hospital are trying to revive Ampuan while Gascon and Bello are being treated at the Mandaluyong City Medical Center (MCMC).

Police investigator SPO3 Roberto Infante said the school van is owned by Norma Ona of Makati City. Bello is employed as the driver of the school service.

Bello, without the owner’s knowledge, used the vehicle to bring clothes to his aunt in Barangay Pinyahan in Quezon City. Riding with him were the other victims, all residents of Barangay Old Zaniga, Mandaluyong City.

Police said Bello and his group had been drinking at his aunt’s house until early morning yesterday.

Because he was too drunk, Bello asked Lasaga, a former driver of the school van, to drive, the survivors said.

Gascon admitted Lasaga was driving quite fast because it was already 3:30 a.m. Bello needed to rest before reporting for work hours later.

Upon reaching EDSA Crossing, Lasaga lost control of the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to slam into a concrete MRT post.

Initial investigation showed the people at the back were either resting or half-asleep when the accident occurred.

Lasaga, Torion, Inobia and Ungko died on the spot.

Responding policemen and bystanders rushed Bello, Gascon and Ampuan to the hospital.