A tourist bus transporting college students to a camping site in Rizal crashed into a concrete electric post yesterday morning, killing 14 of its passengers, including the driver, and injuring 25 others.
The bus rammed a temporary barrier before crashing into a concrete post and trees along Sampaloc Road in Magnetic Hill, Barangay Sampaloc, Tanay town, at about 9:30 a.m., according to Supt. Chitadel Gaorian, regional police spokesman.
Senior Supt. Randy Peralta, director of the Rizal Provincial Police Office, said the strong impact wrecked the vehicle and instantly killed 10 passengers.
Six of the victims who died on the spot were identified as Jeid Cabino, Jonahfay Cerezo, Arneline Galauram, Robert Kenneth Pepito, Princess Nina Sentonis, and Lovely Siringan.
Supt. Gaoiran said four of the victims who died on the spot are female while the rest are male.
“Based on our initial investigation, the bus suffered brakes defect and this resulted in the driver losing control of the vehicle,” said Peralta.
The bus of the Panda Coach and Tours with license plate TXS-325 was transporting a total of 58 students of the Bestlink College of the Philippines in Novaliches, Quezon City.
Peralta said the students were supposed to have a camping at the Sacramento Resorts in Tanay town for a team building.
The bus driver was maneuvering on a descending part of the road when the accident occurred.
Peralta said a number of the passengers were taken to at least three nearby hospitals, including a military hospital in Camp Capinpin and Amang Rodriguez Hospital.
A few hours later, the driver of the bus identified as Julian Lacorda Jr. succumbed to serious injuries along with two other female passengers.
Dong Mendoza, of the Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), said another injured victim was declared dead at the Camp Capinpin Hospital, making the death toll to 14 as of 2 p.m. yesterday.
Mendoza said 19 passengers who were transferred to the Amang Rodriguez due to serious injuries they suffered.
“Of the 19, three of them are in critical condition,” said Mendoza.
VICTIM’S ACCOUNT
One of the students told the police that they were heading to the camping site in Tanay town when he noticed a foul smell that seemed like a burning tire.
A few minutes later, he said the bus appeared to have lost its brakes before it slammed into the post alongside road.
“Rescue teams were immediately sent to the accident site and all the victims were taken to the nearest hospitals,” said Gaoiran.
All the fatalities were taken to the San Isidro Funeral Homes in Tanay town.
PROBE
Peralta said he has already instructed his men to conduct a thorough investigation of the accident.
“This is a tourist bus and supposedly this is in good condition. But there are claims that it lost its brakes so we want to know the truth about because if it is true, hindi naman siguro puwede na lagi na lang nawawalan ng preno,” Pe-ralta said in a separate interview.
He said the investigation they would conduct would be used in filing the necessary charges against those who could be held liable based on the law.
“We are also coordinating with other concerned agencies on our investigation,” said Peralta.
(AARON RECUENCO • NEL ANDRADE • ALI VICOY)
