6 dead, 4 hurt in Benguet road crash

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Six people, including four garbage collectors, died while four others were hurt in a three-truck collision on Marcos Highway in Tuba, Benguet province, at dawn on Monday, police said.

Police investigation showed that a garbage truck driver lost control of the vehicle while traversing Marcos Highway around 4 a.m. in Barangay Poblacion and hit an approaching dump truck.

The impact caused the dump truck to hit a trailer truck on the opposite lane before crashing into a concrete barrier and turning on its side.

Police said Rustom Lachica dela Rama and Mark Alvin Collantes, both employees of the city’s general service office (GSO), died while being treated at Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.

Killed at the crash site were other GSO employees identified as Belly Joe Lachica Collantes, Raymart Lachica and John Rex Hilario. The other fatality, Jonathan Frigillana Vargas, was the driver of the trailer truck. The city government said it would provide financial assistance to the families of the victims.

—Karlston Lapniten