4 dead, 34 hurt in mishap

LEGAZPI CITY—Three siblings and a pregnant woman were killed while 34 others were injured when an out-of-control bus rolled down a slope and hit a concrete fence along the highway in Barangay (village) Kimantong in Daraga town, Albay province, on Sunday.

The fatalities were identified as siblings Ryan Percibal, 8, Grace Ann, 4, and Maria Georgine, 7, all surnamed Abrigo and from Barangay Salvacion in Pilar town, Sorsogon province, and two-month pregnant Princess Ladenes Dichoso, 26, a teacher from Barangay Capoy in Sorsogon City, according to Albay police director Supt. Marlo Meneses.

Ryan and Grace Ann died on the spot while Maria Georgine and Dichoso died minutes apart past noon on Sunday while undergoing treatment at Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital in Daraga, said Daraga police chief Supt. Joel Adan.

The parents of the Abrigo children, Gina and Richard, both 29, were among the injured, Adan said.

The Don Don Liner bus, with plate number 052410, had 38 passengers on board and was traveling from Sorsogon City to Legazpi City when the accident happened around 9:30 a.m., he said.

The Abrigo family was at the section of the bus that slammed into the concrete fence, Adan said.

“According to our preliminary investigation, the bus lost control at the slope due to loose brakes,” he said.

Adan said the driver, Romel Janer San Buenaventura, 43, of Barangay Pamuratan in Sorsogon City, suffered minor injuries and was being held by Daraga police to face charges for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. Ma. April Mier, Inquirer Southern Luzon