2 soldiers, couple die in SCTEx collision

Two Army soldiers and a couple were killed while two other soldiers were injured in a vehicular accident along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) last Tuesday night.

Superintendent Rolly Mendoza, police chief of Porac, Pampanga, identified the fatalities as Pfcs. Mayolito Calaquian and Jason Fajardo, and Apolinario and Maria Teresita Bernabe.

Mendoza said Pfc. Alex Franco and Pvt. Lorenzo Gasingan were injured and rushed to the Rafael Foundation and Medical Center in Mabalacat for treatment.

Investigators said the accident took place at around 7:30 p.m. last Tuesday along SCTEx at the vicinity of Barangay Manuali in Porac town.

According to reports, the Bernabes’ SUV Mitsubishi Outlander overtook another vehicle but its driver miscalculated and smashed into the rear of the soldiers’ truck.

Mendoza said the soldiers, all belonging to the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division, were on their way back to their camp in Balanga, Bataan.

The Tollways Management Corp., the expressway’s operations and maintenance service provider, expressed sadness over the accident, and urged motorists to exercise caution in driving along the SCTEx. – Cecille Suerte Felipe and Ric Sapnu