5 dead, 2 hurt in separate road accidents in Quezon

LUCENA CITY-–At least five people died and two others were hurt in three separate road accidents in Quezon province on Saturday, police said on Sunday.

A report from the Quezon provincial police office said three persons died instantly after their motorcycle hit a Toyota Innova in Padre Burgos town at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Senior Insp. Reynaldo Belarmino, Padre Burgos police chief, said the motorcycle was traversing a section of the road in Barangay Danlagan when its driver, Jerry Villareal, lost control of the vehicle.

The motorcycle slammed into the incoming vehicle driven by Filomeno Capistrano, police said.

The report said Villareal and his passengers, Efren Mercadejas and Julie Reamico, died from head and body injuries.

Belarmino, in a telephone interview, said investigators found two crash helmets in the accident site.

“But I believe the victims were not wearing the helmets [at the time of the accident]. They suffered serious head injuries,” he said.

Belarmino, citing accounts from relatives of the victims, said Villareal, Mercadejas and Reamico came from a drinking session before they met the accident.

On Sunday morning, policemen in Padre Burgos found a dead man along the national highway in Barangay Rizal.

Police said the man, who was believed to have died after he was hit by a vehicle, could be a homeless person or a beggar. He was estimated to be at least 40 years old.

In Sariaya town, a man died while his two companions were hurt when their tricycle was hit by a Masbate province-bound bus along a section of Maharlika Highway in Barangay Gibanga on Saturday afternoon.

Police said the tricycle slammed into a parked truck after it was hit by the bus, driven by Jonathan Abubo, at 5:30 p.m.

The tricycle driver, Ernesto Baricas, died while undergoing treatment at the Quezon Medical Center in Lucena City. His passengers, Evelyn and Laureen Baricas, were brought to the Greg Hospital in Sariaya.