Pangasinan teens die in motorcycle crash

Easy to maneuver through heavy traffic and more affordable to maintain, motorcycles have become popular among Filipinos. However, drivers and riders usually take for granted safety rules in using them, leading to many accidents and deaths. (File photo by Erwin Agullon, Radyo Inquirer 990 AM)

DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan — Two high school students died on Thursday in Pangasinan’s Bayambang town when their motorcycle collided with a utility van.

Mark Cayabyab and Melen Jomar Castillo, both Grade 7 students, were on a motorcycle that was speeding along the south bound lane of the national road in Buayaen village, when it crashed into the van on the opposite lane at 12 p.m., said Supt. Gregorio Galsim, Bayambang police chief.

Galsim said Cayabyab and Castillo died on their way to a hospital.

The van driver, Victorino Tolentino, 46, of Camiling, Tarlac, surrendered to the police. The police are still investigating the accident.  SFM