1 dead, 2 hurt as train hits tricycle in Laguna

CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Philippines — A tricycle driver was killed and two of his four passengers injured when their vehicle was sideswiped by a Philippine National Railways  train at a railroad crossing in Cabuyao, Laguna, early Thursday morning.

Superintendent Arnel Gongona, Cabuyao police chief, said in a telephone interview that the Manila-bound train hit the driver’s side of the tricycle driven by Raul Ricamora as it was about to cross the railroad at around 5:30 a.m. in Barangay (village) Uno.

The tricycle was thrown ten meters off the tracks, the police said.

Ricamora died on the spot due to fractures and a head injury, while his passengers in the tricycle’s sidecar, Elena Quijano and June Hernandez, sustained bruises and abrasions and were rushed to the St. James Hospital in Cabuyao.

According to witnesses, there were two other male passengers seated on the tricycle’s back ride but were able to save themselves after jumping off the tricycle seconds before the impact, the police said.

Quijano and Hernandez, when interviewed by police, said they did not notice the approaching train.

“But that seemed impossible for the driver because you would have heard a forthcoming train from a hundred meters,” Gongona said.

He said the train did not stop after the collision. The police were coordinating with the PNR to identify the driver of the train, who is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.