3 DPWH men killed, 2 hurt in Quezon road mishap

LUCENA CITY, Philippines—Three employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Quezon province were killed and two others injured in an accident the Marikina-Infanta road in Infanta town Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Senior Supt. Valeriano de Leon, Quezon police chief, said that at around 4:30 p.m. the victims, aboard a government-owned Toyota Land Cruiser, were negotiating a downhill road in Barangay Magsaysay when their driver, Jose Gonzales Jr., lost control of the vehicle, which overturned and rolled down the highway.

Police said three of the passengers—geodetic Engineers Jose Alden Baldovino and Raul Concepcion and engineering aide Miguel Romantico—all died on the spot.

The driver and another passenger, engineering aide Jason Salayong, were rushed by villagers to the Claro M. Recto hospital in Infanta for treatment, police said.

Citing initial investigation, DPWH district engineer Eric Ayapana said the driver’s unfamiliarity with the road was one of the causes of the accident.

“Though all our vehicles were being regularly checked up that Land Cruiser is already 15 years old or more,” Ayapana said on the phone.

He said the group had just finished a survey on a section of the Marikina-Infanta road and were on their way back to Infanta when the accident happened.