3 killed, 10 hurt as van collides with truck in Cebu town

CEBU CITY—Three persons, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed while 10 others were injured on Thursday morning when the van they were riding collided with a truck in Argao town, about 67 km south of here.

The L300 van was loaded with 12 passengers, mostly persons with disabilities and some children from the towns of Oslob and Dalaguete who were heading to a hospital in Cebu City for a medical check-up.

PO3 Bernie Lao, Argao police investigator, said the van’s driver, Mandy Espares, was overtaking a tricycle along the national highway in Barangay Talaga, Argao about 7 a.m.

But the road was slippery, causing the van to swerve to the other lane and to collide with a 10-wheeler truck that was heading to Dalaguete town to haul coal, said Lao.

Two women –Guillerma Belandres, 35, and a resident of Dalaguete town, and Rosalinda Laurente, 42, of Oslob town – were pronounced dead on arrival at the Isidro Kintanar Memorial Hospital in Argao, said Lao.

Diether Caracol, 10, also of Oslob, died an hour later in the same hospital, he added.

Belandres and Laurente were reportedly escorting their relatives who were PWDs to a hospital in Cebu City for checkup.

Ten others were hurt, including the van’s driver.

But Espares was not brought to the hospital because his injuries were minor. He was, instead, placed in police custody pending filing of the charges.