Cebu 10-vehicle smashup injures 12

Rescuers remove a Honda City that was pinned under a 10-wheeler truck in a 10-vehicle smash-up inside the SRP tunnel in Cebu. CEBU DAILY NEWS / LITO TECSON

CEBU CITY — Dionisio Pogoy, 42, was looking forward to go home following a long day at work.

He was one of the 12 people who were hurt in a 10-vehicle smash up inside the South Road Properties (SRP) tunnel, which connects Cebu City to southern Cebu.

Pogoy said he was driving a ten-wheeler truck and was heading home to Mandaue City after delivering cement in Talisay City, southern Cebu, past 4 p.m. when his vehicle was rammed from behind by a prime mover van.

“I was not able to step on the brake immediately and hit the truck in front of me,” Pogoy said in Cebuano.

The collision created a domino effect that affected eight more vehicles that were all north bound or heading to Cebu City.

It started with the prime-mover which lost its brakes and hit a taxi, which was pushed forward into Pogoy’s truck. The truck then plowed into an L300 van that hit the Honda City ahead of it.

Subsequently, the Honda was propelled forward into another 10-wheeler truck.

An L300 van on the left side of the prime mover was also hit and pushed against a Mitsubishi Montero Sports.

A motorcycle beside the taxi and a Nissan Navara were also sideswiped although the pickup only sustained a scratch.

“Eight of the 10 vehicles were on the same lane. It created a domino effect since they were on the same lane,” said Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) enforcer Brian Rollo, who was among the first responders.

According to Nagiel Bañacia, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer, the SRP has a speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour.

But based on the impact, he said the prime mover appeared to be running at 50 to 60 kph.

Bañacia said the weight of the container van and the downward slope intensified the impact of the collision. /cbb