3 hurt in school bus mishap

MANILA, Philippines - The driver of a school bus and two of the students in his care were hurt when the bus fell on its side as he tried to avoid a tricycle in Pasig City yesterday.

Nine-year-old Martin Angelo Gonzales and John Reno Arca, 15, were sent home after being treated at the Medical City for bruises and contusions.

Driver Danilo Gabarda, 40, sustained minor injuries but refused to be brought to a hospital.

It took local rescue workers and firefighters at least an hour to remove the van, which functioned as a school bus. The accident caused a traffic jam along C-5 Road and Shaw Boulevard.

Gabarda said he fetched Gonzales, Arca and four other students from their respective houses in Pasig City to bring them to the Don Bosco Technical College in Mandaluyong City.

As he was driving the school bus along Pasig Boulevard at past 6 a.m. yesterday, a tricycle came into their path, prompting him to swerve to the left, Gabarda said.

He said the school bus’ right front wheel hit the gutter and the vehicle fell on its side. The four uninjured students were brought to school in another vehicle.