3 kids die, 19 hurt in Benguet mishap

TUBA, Benguet — Three children were killed and 19 others were injured, two of them seriously, when a privately owned jeepney slammed into a railing along the Marcos Highway in Barangay Taloy Sur here last Dec. 30, a belated report said.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Cordillera, in a report to Chief Superintendent George Aliño, regional police director, identified the three fatalities as Mitos Menzi, 10; Leonides Tanacio, 7; and Marcela Tanacio, 10, all relatives, of Itogon, Benguet.

The OCD said the Fuzo jeepney, driven by one Romeo Bacoy, was cruising the highway when its brake malfunctioned, causing it to swerve and eventually hit the road railing.

One of those injured, eight-year-old Marcos Bacoy Jr., is still in critical condition. The boy’s cousin, Mark Bacoy, had a mangled arm, forcing doctors to amputate it.

It was the worst accident along the Marcos Highway in 2001.

In 1999, more than a hundred people were killed in mishaps along the highways leading to Baguio City. — Artemio Dumlao