INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
LUCENA CITY – Three college teachers died on Wednesday after a passing vehicle hit them along the Maharlika Highway in Tiaong town in Quezon province.
Quezon police said in a report on Thursday, July 27, that Salvo Salvacion, 30; Rosie Dulay, 62; and Cheryl Bundalian, 27, all faculty members of the Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) branch in the locality, were crossing a section of the highway in Barangay Lagalag when they were bumped around 7:30 p.m. by a top-down jitney driven by Zaldy Mosquera, 63.
The three suffered severe injuries and were taken to two separate hospitals in neighboring Candelaria town.
However, Bundalian expired around 8:40 p.m. while undergoing treatment at Peter Paul Medical Hospital, while Dulay died at Candelaria United Doctor’s Hospital around 9:15 p.m.
Police Staff Master Sergeant Ramon Rivera, Tiaong police desk officer, in a phone interview Thursday morning, reported that Salvacion also died at past 2 a.m. Thursday at Peter Paul Medical Hospital.
The report described the highway as wet due to rains spawned by typhoon Egay (international name: Doksuri).
Rivera said the driver was not under the influence of liquor. The jitney driver was placed under police custody while the investigation continues.
“Maybe, he has weak vision due to his age,” he said.
He said the victims just came from the campus and were crossing the highway when the accident happened.
The SLSU expressed “sadness and deep pain” over the deaths of their three teachers in a statement.
“They will be remembered as dedicated public servants, caring teachers, and dependable colleagues,” the SLSU Human Resource Management Office, said in a message posted on its Facebook Thursday morning.
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