1 dead as cargo truck hits 7 vehicles

MANILA, Philippines–A man was killed while several others were hurt after a 14-wheel truck weighed down by its cargo of sand rolled down a sloping portion of C5 Road in Taguig City and hit seven other vehicles on Monday morning.

Marcos Dalida of the city government’s Traffic Management Office said the accident happened on the southbound lane of the busy thoroughfare near Market! Market! at Bonifacio Global City around 4 a.m.

The cargo truck with plate number UNE 539, Dalida said, ended up  hitting seven vehicles following it—a Toyota Innova with plate number NQM 407 driven by Raymond Castañeda; an Isuzu truck with plate number WSU 554 driven by Edwin Cruz Orsino; a Toyota Vios taxi with plate number UVY 860 whose driver has yet to be identified; a Hyundai Accent taxi with plate number UPP 876 driven by Jaime Lucernas Poroy; a Nissan Sentra taxi with plate number TSP 314 driven by Randy Maligo Cabrera; a Mitsubishi Mirage with plate number UOK 417 driven by Benedict Herbas; and an Elf truck with plate number TKN 521 driven by Joselito Marquez.

Traffic investigator PO3 Ramil Erlanda said the cargo truck slammed into the seven vehicles with such force that it caused one of them, the Elf truck, to burst into flames.

The fire trapped one of the Elf’s passengers, Richard Parado, inside the vehicle, killing him, Erlanda said.

“He was unable to jump out after the 14-wheeler truck hit the Elf truck so he was burnt inside the vehicle,” the traffic investigator explained.

According to Erlanda, the cargo truck stopped only after it hit the side of the road, causing it to tilt and fall on its left side.

He told the Inquirer that around 10 were injured, either passengers or drivers of the vehicles involved in the crash. Dalida, however, said they counted just four.

“[Those injured] included a passenger in one of the taxis, and the driver of the Mirage, among others,” Erlanda said, adding that the victims, who were taken to the Ospital ng Makati, all sustained minor injuries.

Initial reports failed to identify the driver of the cargo truck who escaped.

Later in the day, Erlanda identified the driver as Larry Mirandilla, 38.

According to the information provided by the owner of the cargo truck, Treasure Rock Movers Co., based in Laguna, Mirandilla was with two truck helpers, one of them identified as Jeric de Guzman.

The other one, Erlanda said, has yet to be identified as he was a new employee and had no company records.

Erlanda told the Inquirer that based on their investigation, the two helpers had tried to stop the cargo truck from sliding down the sloping road by putting stoppers behind its tires.

“But when that didn’t work, (all three, including the driver) escaped,” he said.

According to Erlanda, the driver will face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and multiple physical injuries.

The accident tied up traffic on three lanes of C5 Road, leaving only one lane open to vehicles. As a result, traffic backed up for hours in the area and spilled over to adjacent roads, leaving motorists stuck in their vehicles for hours.

According to the traffic investigator, the delay in the clearing of vehicles involved in the accident was due to “misinformation.”

The first responders, according to him, were Makati traffic enforcers.

“But after 30 minutes, Bonifacio Global City marshals came to us and said (the incident was under the jurisdiction of Taguig),” Erlanda said.

Archimedes Silvallana of the Taguig City government’s Traffic Management Office said it took some time for the towing truck of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) used for clearing operations to arrive at the site.

“The call for the towing truck came late,” he explained.

The MMDA said that the area was cleared of all the vehicles involved in the crash at 10:28 a.m.