4 dead, 4 hurt in Metro road mishaps

MANILA, Philippines – Four persons were killed and four others hurt in four separate vehicular collisions all over Metro Manila since Tuesday night.

In Caloocan City, a Sanyung bus (TYU-345) driven by Abdulsafur Asnalul, 35, hit Ali Tolentino, 35, who was riding a bicycle along Dagat-Dagatan Avenue Tuesday night.

Due to the impact, Tolentino was thrown several meters forward and then run over by the bus. He died on the spot.

The bus driver was turned over to the police by barangay watchmen who rushed to the scene.

In Manila, a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority traffic enforcer died after he was hit by a speeding trailer truck at around 12:40 a.m. yesterday.

Police identified the victim as Rommel Maganes, assigned to man traffic along EDSA-Guadalupe in Makati.

Initial police investigation showed that Maganes was on his way home, driving his motorcycle along Legarda street, when another motorcyclist bumped his motorcycle and caused him to fall.

Police said before Maganes could get up, he was hit by a speeding trailer truck driven by Alfredo Calajeno, who is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino is coordinating with Maganes’ family so they could receive financial assistance.

Less than two hours later, Manila Electric Co. lineman Joseph Sorio, 24, was killed and two of his colleagues injured when a wayward dump truck hit them as they were fixing main power lines and cables along East Avenue in front of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City.

Sorio died after falling from the boom bucket of the Meralco truck carrying him and fellow lineman Richard Diaz, 27. Sorio suffered severe head and body injuries while Diaz was taken to the East Avenue Medical Center for treatment of unspecified bodily injuries.

Leadman Ricky Sabornido, 38, who was supervising the work on the ground, suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital soon after treatment.

Dump truck (REY-578) driver Minandro Santiago, 34, was arrested and is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and multiple physical injuries.

Police said the dump truck rear-ended the parked Meralco truck, causing the linemen to be thrown out of the boom bucket.

At around 4:30 a.m. yesterday, 18-year-old Jerick Mazo driving a motorcycle was killed while two women riding behind him were seriously injured after an Isuzu Elf hit their motorcycle head-on.

Records show that both vehicles were traveling along Zabarte Road in opposite directions when the Elf, driven by Reymon Tolmo, 22, slammed into Mazo’s motorcycle.

The impact threw Mazo and his passengers Julie de los Santos and Lani Angeles several meters away. Mazo was killed on the spot while the two women were taken to the East Avenue Medical Center for treatment.

Tolmo surrendered to the police. – Perseus Echeminada, Jose Rodel Clapano, Jerry Botial