4 dead in Cavite road accident

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna – Four persons were killed when their car collided with a trailer truck and got pinned beneath it in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, early on Friday.

As of 11 a.m., the car, driven by Joan Toledo, a resident of Dasmariñas, was still being pulled out of the accident site, Superintendent Carlos Barde, Dasmariñas police chief, said in a phone interview.

Toledo and all of her three passengers died on the spot, Barde said.

He identified the other fatalities, all from Cavite province, as: Lowie Alcaraz, from Noveleta town; Rogelio Santos Jr., from Imus City; and Armando San Pedro III, from Tagaytay City.

The victims, Barde said, were in their 30s but their relation to each has not yet been established.

Barde said investigators had yet to determine where Toledo’s car was coming from although they have established it was bound for Manila and was travelling on the Aguinaldo Highway in Barangay (village) San Agustin I around 2:45 a.m. when the accident happened.

He said the truck driver, identified as Rico Andes, claimed that the car suddenly swerved to the opposite lane and collided head on with his truck.

“The car was pinned under the truck. It was totally wrecked… the victims’ faces could not be easily identified anymore,” Barde said.

He said the police still had to determine what caused Toledo to lose control of the car, but he added it would be difficult to do so given the condition of the vehicle and the victims’ remains.

The truck driver turned himself over to the authorities, Barde said.