5 killed in Cebu road mishaps

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Five people were killed while two others were injured in separate collisions involving motorcycles and wing vans in Cebu on Tuesday.

Motorcycle driver Jose Gacayan Jr., 26, and his passengers – Felex Vasquez, 50, and Ereneya Lopez, 60 – died at the scene of the accident, which occurred shortly after 3 p.m. in Barangay Busay, Cebu City.

Van driver Roger Suyman, 49, was declared dead on arrival at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Hospital. His helper, Gener Bacnis, 53, was rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center for treatment of injuries.

The vehicles were traveling in Sitio Maaslom when the van reportedly overshot the highway, causing it to hit the motorcycle and run over Gacayan and his passengers, according to Col. Franco Rudolf Oriol, spokesman for the Cebu City police.

A few hours later, a traffic enforcer died while his companion was injured after they were thrown off their motorcycle and then run over by a wing van in the nearby town of Carmen.

Traffic enforcer June Ray Repaso, who was driving the motorcycle, died from head injuries. His companion, Joe-Ramie Singson, was rushed to the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Danao City for treatment of injuries.

Reports said the motorcycle was traveling in Barangay Dawis Norte when it rearended a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was about to turn left.

The impact threw the victims off their motorcycle toward the opposite lane where the van, driven by Bryan Barazan, ran over them.

The drivers of the SUV and the van were brought to the Carmen police station for questioning.