4 dead in 4-vehicle road accident in Batangas

SAN PEDRO CITY – Four people died in a road accident involving four vehicles in Sto. Tomas town in Batangas province on Monday morning.

The police have identified one of the fatalities as Calexto Guzman, driver of the tricycle involved in the accident. The other three were the driver and the two passengers of a Toyota Vios car.

In a phone interview, Calabarzon police spokesperson Supt. Chitadel Gaoiran said the accident happened around 5:30 a.m. in Barangay (village) San Jose.

This was after a trailer truck, driven by Ruel Jarabese, 44, and a resident of Lucena City, Quezon, hit Guzman’s tricycle.

“The initial report was the truck ate up and occupied the opposite lane (of the road),” Gaoiran said.  She said police were still investigating if the vehicle malfunctioned or its brakes failed.

After the initial impact, the truck continued moving and hit a passenger bus before ramming into the car.

The bus was a unit of the Bicol Isarog Transport System driven by Florentino Densing. No one on the bus was reported hurt.

Gaoiran said Jarabese is now in police custody as investigation continued./lb