ABULUG, Cagayan — Eleven people, including two children, died after their pickup truck collided with a passenger bus here at 12:10 a.m. Thursday.
Maj. Antonio Palattao, the town’s police chief, said the Saint Joseph Bus (NBJ 3183) operated by GV Florida Bus Line, was traversing the National Highway going south, when the Toyota Hilux pickup truck (AAU 5780) suddenly entered the main highway at the Ayaga junction.
Police investigators said the bus hit the pickup truck and dragged it about 20 meters toward the Ayaga Market, hitting a bystander and stopped when it slammed into the concrete fence of the Autotraxx Car Care Center.
DEADLY CRASH Because of the strong impact, the pickup slammed into a market stall. PHOTO BY IAN TANIECA/CAGAYAN PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE
Abulug police said the fatalities were from the Time family, made up of father and son Rodolfo Sr. and Rodolfo Jr., sisters Evelyn and Christina Jane, as well as relatives Mary Jane, Lovely, Crishia Shane, Kimberly, Rodelyn, and Angel, all surnamed Time. They all rode in the pickup truck and were heading home to Allacapan town after attending a wake in Flora, Apayao. Police did not name the 11th fatality.
This town’s police and rescue team along with the Bureau of Fire Protection personnel recovered 11 passengers of the pickup truck, whose bodies were scattered all over the accident zone.
The victims were declared dead at the Far North Hospital where they were taken.
Nestor Mangupag, driver of the pickup truck, suffered a serious injury, while two other passengers of the truck, Kyla and Loveliness Mangupag, sustained minor injuries.
The bystander, Consolacion Jimenez, also sustained less serious injuries.
The Florida Bus was bound from Baguio City to Santa Ana, Cagayan, and was driven by Jay-jet Binoya Andrada, 30, married, and a resident of Logac, Lallo town, Cagayan. He and his helper, Christopher Ramos Tapec, sustained minor injuries and were brought to ACMC Hospital.
Palattao said family members were able to receive the bodies of their relatives.
He said with 13 people onboard, the pickup truck was overloaded. There were 23 passengers aboard the Florida Bus, most of whom suffered only minor injuries.
“Based on our investigation, it appears that the Toyota Hilux was at fault, because it was in the inner lane going to the main highway and the driver could have checked if the way was clear,” the police official said. “But we need to double check because we have not seen the CCTV footage of the incident.”
No cases have been filed against either driver, but Andrada, the bus driver who suffered a foot injury, will be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property because the bus struck the Hilux.
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