Batangas road accident: 5 die, 8 hurt

Five people were killed in a fatal collision involving a car and tricycle. Both groups of passengers came from a birthday party in San Juan town in Batangas province the night before. Contributed photo

UPDATED: 2:25 p.m. / January 4, 2019

SAN PEDRO CITY — Five people were killed while eight others were injured in a head-on collision involving a car and a tricycle, whose passengers were all guests in a birthday party in San Juan town in Batangas province on Friday.

San Juan police head Chief Insp. Rosell Encarnacion said the accident happened around 3 a.m. in Barangay (village) Laiya-Aplaya, shortly after the victims left the party.

“They were not exactly friends but they knew each other as they were all residents of Barangay (Laiya) Aplaya. They also all came from someone’s debut (the night before),” Encarnacion said of the victims.

In a phone interview, Encarnacion said the car, driven by Kelly Villanueva, and carrying four passengers, was first to leave the party but the group dropped by somewhere in the village for another drinking session.

When the car got back on the road, it came across the tricycle driven by Levy Gamil whose seven passengers had then just left the debut. The tricycle was heading towards Barangay Hugom when the accident happened, police said.

“It was a sharp curve and due to the impact, the car rammed the tricycle,” Encarnacion said.

Tricycle passengers John Eric Gamil, Borito Santos, and a certain Popoy died instantly.

Another tricycle passenger, whose identity the police were still determining, died later in a hospital.

Villanueva also died hours later in a hospital.

Encarnacion said the injured were brought to different hospitals in Batangas City and in Rosario town in Batangas. /kga/lb