ABULUG, Cagayan, Philippines — Eleven members of a family on their way home from the wake of a relative died when their pick-up truck collided with a passenger bus in this town shortly after midnight yesterday.
Twenty-eight others were injured in the accident that occurred at around 12:10 a.m. at the Ayaga junction in Barangay Lucban.
Ten of the fatalities were surnamed Time. They were identified as Angel, Christina Jane, Crishia Shane, Evelyn, Kimberly, Lovely, Mary Jane, Rodelyn, Rodolfo Jr. and Rodolfo Sr.
The other fatality was identified as Esmeralda Esrael.
A local search and rescue team rushed the victims to the Far North Luzon General Hospital and Medical Training Center in Luna, Apayao, where 10 of them were declared dead on arrival.
Truck driver Nestor Mangupag and his relatives Kyla and Loveliness were brought to the same hospital for treatment of injuries.
Bus driver Jay-jet Andrada and conductor Christopher Tapec as well as their 23 passengers were also treated for minor injuries.
They were immediately discharged after receiving treatment.
The fatalities, who were in the truck with three others, were on their way home in Barangay Dana-ili in the nearby town of Allacapan.
They reportedly came from the wake of a relative in Flora in Apayao.
Initial investigation showed the truck was approaching the Ayaga junction when it collided with a Florida bus.
The bus dragged the truck several meters away before it crashed into a concrete fence of a business establishment, according to Maj. Antonio Palattao, Abulug police chief..
The truck hit a row of commercial stalls as it was being dragged by the bus.
A vendor, identified as Consolacion Jimenez, suffered injuries from the incident, although probers have yet to determine whether she was hit by the truck or the debris of the commercial stalls.
Andrada and Tapec were brought to the Abulug police station for questioning.
Pallatao said probers would review footage of closed-circuit television cameras installed at the scene of the accident.
Charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and damage to property will be filed against the bus driver, police said.
3 dead in Rizal road mishap
Meanwhile, in Rizal, three people died while five others were injured after they were hit by a police vehicle driven by an allegedly mentally unstable man in Morong.
The man reportedly stole the vehicle and drove it toward Barangay San Juan at around 10:45 a.m.
Investigation showed that before stealing the vehicle, the man was apprehended by personnel of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office for causing trouble.
Responding police officers were about to bring the suspect to the hospital, but he ran away and boarded a police vehicle, according to Morong police chief Rosalino Panlaqui.
The suspect started the engine and hit several people along the way, including a police officer who suffered injuries.
The vehicle crashed into power post after a policeman fired at it.
The suspect was brought to a hospital for treatment. – Emmanuel Tupas, Victor Martin