Mom, son killed in road accident

BACOLOD CITY — A pregnant woman and her son were killed while 24 others were injured after a Bacolod City-bound mini bus fell off a bridge and into a creek in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, Tuesday noon, the police said.

An investigation by the Himamaylan police showed the mini bus, driven by Benjie Himalaya, slammed into the barrier of the bridge in barangay Caradio-an before plunging into the Calasa Creek, killing Rochelle Lagahit, 27, and her son, Cyrill John, 7.

Accounts from the scene indicated mother and son were in the seats behind the driver.

PO1 Rene Munez, traffic investigator of the Himamaylan police, said that 24 other passengers, including Himalaya and the fare collector, were rescued from the fallen bus and rushed to the Valeriano Gatuslao Memorial Hospital in Himamaylan and the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City.

The bodies of the fatalities, who were residents of barangay Tagda, Hinigaran, were claimed on Tuesday by their relatives. The investigation also showed the driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel. Munez said the bus came from Kabankalan.  /INQUIRER