Manila, Philippines - A mother and her two children were killed when a 10-wheeler truck toppled over and dumped around 15 tons of sand on their shanty in Quezon City.
Jennelyn Tabahonda, 23, and her children – Jessie, three; and Cristel, two – were sleeping in their shanty in Barangay Sto. Domingo when the accident occurred at past 11 p.m.
Truck driver Jerome Doctolero was supposed to deliver the cargo, which also included scaffolding, to the Sagada compound on Maria Clara street where Tabahonda’s partner, JR Rabadajo,works as caretaker, according to Senior Police Officer 2 Reynaldo Patiag.
Doctolero reportedly tried to proceed despite the uneven ground in the compound, causing the truck to turn over. The truckload of sand and scaffolding crushed the shanty’s wall, Patiag said.
It took about three hours to pull out the bodies of Tabahonda and Jessie from the rubble. It was nearly dawn when Cristel’s remains were recovered.
Doctolero was put under police custody and faces charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.