2 dead, 85 hurt in Camarines Norte as truck loses control

NAGA CITY—Two high school students died and 85 others were injured when a government-owned dump truck full of young students and teachers lost control, swerved off the road and fell into a ditch in Barangay Itok, Capalonga, Camarines Norte, on Saturday, police said on Sunday.

Provincial police director Senior Superintendent Jose Capinpin said the victims were returning home from a sports event in Gonzalo Aler National High School in Itok, about 7 kilometers from the town proper, when the accident happened at 1:30 p.m. along a winding segment of the road.

Capinpin said a certain Joseph Florante was driving the truck owned by the municipal government and loaded with an undetermined number of passengers.

Thrown off the truck, students Sarah Jean de Mesa, 14, and Robert Glomar, 16, died on the spot, Capinpin said. De Mesa and Glomar were both from Capalonga town.

The injured students and teachers were rushed to Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital in the capital town of Daet, about 60 km to the southeast, where they were now recuperating, said Capinpin.

Florante would be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in double homicide and multiple physical injuries, according to Capinpin. Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Inquirer Southern Luzon