3 die, 1 hurt as drunk truck driver plows through Bukidnon checkpoint

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Two barangay health workers and another village official were killed when a truck plowed through a quarantine checkpoint in Maramag town in Bukidnon Friday evening, more than an hour before the province imposed a lockdown as a precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Hansel Echavez, head of the Bukidnon public affairs, information and assistance office, said the 10-wheeler truck was speeding towards Don Carlos town when the accident happened in Campo Uno, Maramag at around 10:45 p.m.

On Friday, Bukidnon Governor Jose Maria Zubiri ordered stricter quarantine measures, closing its provincial borders to non-residents beginning midnight.

Echavez said the truck, which is used for hauling sugar cane, with plate number MDX-119, rammed into two motorcycles and a multicab van, as it tried to escape the policemen and barangay peacekeepers stationed at the quarantine checkpoint.

A police officer said the truck eventually crashed into a pole. The driver, identified as a certain Jimuel Ompoc, was arrested and detained at the Maramag police station.

Echavez identified the fatalities as Jomalyn Buhayon and Margie Maribao, both barangay health workers. They were rushed to the Bukidnon provincial hospital where they were pronounced dead.

He said another village official, identified as Barangay Kagawad Aldren Gaitera of North Poblacion, Maramag, also died at the La Viña hospital in nearby Valencia City.

A fourth person, identified as Beth Lumanca, was transported to Cagayan de Oro for treatment of her injuries, according to the Maramag police.