11 family members dead in Cagayan road accident

At least 11 people died, five were seriously injured, and 20 had minor injuries when a wayward air-conditioned bus and a pickup collided with each other at the junction in Ayaga, Abulug, Cagayan, on Thursday, July 11, 2024. | PHOTO COURTESY OF CAGAYAN PPO / IAN TANIECA

TUGUEGARAO CITY — Eleven relatives aboard a pickup truck died instantly after their vehicle collided with a passenger bus at a road junction in Abulug town, Cagayan province, early morning on Thursday, police said.

Reports from the Abulug police identified the fatalities as belonging to the Time family, among them father and son Rodolfo Sr. and Rodolfo Jr.; sisters Evelyn and Christina Jane; and relatives Mary Jane, Lovely, Crishia, Shane, Kimberly, Rodelyn, and Angel.

Investigators said the pickup truck driver, Nestor Mangupag, a resident of Gattaran town and a relative of the deceased, was injured.

Maj. Antonio Palattao, Abulug police chief, said the pickup truck’s passengers came from a wake in Flora town in Apayao province. They were on their way home to Barangay Dana-Ili in Allacapan town at 12:05 a.m. when their vehicle hit a Florida Bus bound for Santa Ana town in Cagayan.

Strong impact

Investigators reported that the pickup truck was speeding and came from a provincial road at Barangay Ayaga when it hit the bus cruising on the national highway.

The strong impact caused the drivers of both vehicles to lose control of the wheel, spinning the pickup truck and crashing into a stall in the public market, and the bus into a wall and mound of earth.

READ: What you need to know about road safety in the Philippines

An unidentified passenger in the pickup truck was taken to the hospital. Bus driver Jay-jet Andrada, a resident of Lal-lo, Cagayan, had a broken leg, while five passengers were seriously injured. At least 20 others aboard the bus had minor injuries. —VILLAMOR VISAYA JR. 

READ: 3 dead in pickup–truck collision in Quezon