Death toll in tricycle-van collision in Quezon rises to 5
LUCENA CITY — The number of fatalities in the tricycle-van collision on Wednesday, Sept. 14, along the Maharlika Highway in Pagbilao, Quezon, rose to five.
In a follow-up report Thursday, the Pagbilao police said the tricycle driver, Marvin Lopez, 24, also died Thursday morning while undergoing treatment at the MMG Hospital in this city.
Lopez’s mother, Marilyn, 42, was the only survivor among the five tricycle passengers.
The other fatalities were Teodoro Balitaan, Justina Balitaan, Maryrose Ravano, and 5-year-old Princes Lara Lopez.
The Quezon police reported that Lopez’s tricycle collided around 9 a.m. on Wednesday with an oncoming Isuzu Elf van driven by Rafael Jovinal Jr. in a curved section of the highway in Barangay Ikirin.
Investigators said the tricycle passengers were thrown off and landed on the pavement. The wayward vehicle crashed into another tricycle that was running behind the van.
The victims were taken to the Quezon Medical Center in this city, but four of Lopez’s passengers were declared dead on arrival.
Lopez’s tricycle partially encroached on the opposite lane, which led to the collision, police said.
A security camera installed in the area by the local government captured the incident.
In an earlier report, investigators said the concerned parties were open to an amicable settlement.
But with Lopez’s death, his family decided to file criminal charges against Jovinal, police said.
Jovinal is under police custody. INQ
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