6 dead, 3 injured in van, trailer truck collision in Quezon

A collision between a van and a truck left six passengers dead and three others injured in Tagkawayan, Quezon Tuesday morning. Police said the van was Bicol-bound from Cavite and was carrying passengers who booked their trip online. PHOTOS FROM TAGKAWAYAN POLICE

LUCENA CITY – Six passengers of a van died and three others were seriously injured after their vehicle collided with a trailer truck in Tagkawayan town in Quezon province early Tuesday, police said.

Police Major Marcelito Platino, Tagkawayan police chief, in a report said a Nissan Escapade Urvan van, being driven by Ron Aldwin Aquino, accidentally bumped the oncoming truck driven by Arjay Redecialla at a section of the Quirino Highway in Barangay San Vicente around 12:20 a.m.

Police said Aquino, Ma. Thalia Bombales, Sergei Victor France Reyes and John Robert Diocampo were pinned and died instantly inside the van.

Two other van passengers, Agnes Villarosa and Rommel Galupar, passed away while undergoing treatment at Ma. L Eleazar Memorial District Hospital in Tagkawayan.

The other van passengers, Fatima Beroin, Raymond Froibel Cortez and Joel Badiola, sustained grave injuries and are confined at the hospital.

Report said the Manila-bound truck was negotiating an uphill portion of the highway when the oncoming van occupied the opposite lane after it overtook a vehicle ahead.

The van driver lost control of the vehicle and consequently crashed into the oncoming truck.

In a phone interview, Police Master Sergeant Randy Requinto, case investigator, said the ill-fated van came from Cavite province on the way to Bicol region.

Citing information from the survivors, Requinto said the victims paid their trip through an “online booking” of passengers.

Police are still conducting further investigation.

Meanwhile, the accident site is now passable to all vehicles, police said.

EDV