Dump truck with coffin, 70 mourners crashes in Barili town; ‘brakes failed’

Malfunctioning brakes caused a municipal dump truck to speed downhill and fall on its side in Barili town, south Cebu, killing eleven people in a large group of mourners on their way to a funeral yesterday.

The accident left at least 49 injured, many of them relatives and neighbors of the 68-year-old woman whose coffin they were accompanying to the St. Anne Parish Church in the town proper for a requiem Mass at 2 p.m.

The government truck was borrowed as a funeral hearse, a common cost-saving practice in rural areas where families can’t afford to hire their own vehicles.

Eleven passengers were killed by the impact, including a 60-year-old woman.

Among the survivors was a 3-year-old girl, Ashley Cereño, who was brought with her head bandaged, along with most of the victims, to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City about two hours away. (See list of fatalities and injured persons on this page.)

The dump truck with plate number SHW 781 came from the mountain barangay of Candampas and was heading for the town proper 15 kilometers away.

The driver, Alwin Bayno, said the truck was traveling at normal speed downhill in barangay Balao when the rubber cap of the brakes exploded about 12:45 p.m., making him lose control of the vehicle.

Bayno said he tried to maneuver the truck as it started going very fast down the asphalted road, but the truck suddenly overturned on its right side and fell on the ground.

Five people were killed on the spot, pinned down by the truck.

“I was going at normal speed. The brake suddenly exploded and the truck picked up speed until it overturned,” Bayno said in Cebuano.

Bayno said the truck was in good running condition and that he checked it that morning before he went to the vigil wake of 68-year-old Tranquilina Diagbil about 9:30 a.m.

The driver is now jailed at the Barili police station. Charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple physical injuries and multiple homicide will be filed against him after affidavits of victims and their relatives are gathered, said PO2 Hector Veloso of the Barili police station.

According to mechanics interviewed by Cebu Daily News, a damaged rubber part in the brake system is an indicator of wear and tear. This can be prevented with regular checks and maintenance.

Passenger Bobby Indab, 41, survived by jumping off the truck before it fell. Then he boarded a motorcycle taxi or habal-habal to the town proper to call for help.

He confirmed that the truck was running at normal speed until it lost its brakes and sped downhill.

“Wa ra ko mapiit kay nakaambak ko sa dayon gyud nga pagkatumba sa truck,” he said.

The victims were brought to Barili District Hospital and later transferred to VSMMC. Most of them suffered head injuries and fractures. About eight require surgery. Several had to be brought to a private hospital for a CT scan.

Two patients who were brought to the VSMMC later died of severe head injuries—Napoleon Aguidor, 37; and Jimmy Ricaplaza, 27—according to hospital spokesman Nonoy Mongaya.

The funeral of Tranquilina Diagbil finally took place later in the afternoon. Another truck picked up the damaged coffin and brought it to the town proper for burial, according to the mayor’s staffer Salome Merelos.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia went to funeral homes in Barili town to comfort relatives of the victims, some of whom cried on her shoulder.

Barili is the governor’s hometown where her family has its ancestral house. Garcia was in Dumanjug town for a meeting with church and heritage experts when she learned about the accident.

She gave out P1,000 initial cash aid to the crash victims and promised more help later.

Carmelita Yek embraced the governor and lamented that her family needs help because her 17-year-old son Ariel was dead while husband Andres, 55, is injured in the VSMMC.

Barili Mayor Teresito Mariñas said the governor assured that the Capitol would shoulder all hospital expenses and that sacks of rice and canned goods would be distributed today.

The governor also instructed the mayor to help the families transport the bodies to their respective homes.

Mariñas said Barili town would give P5,000 financial assistance to each victim’s family. With correspondent Rhea Ruth Rosell