When truckers lose control: 3 dead, 14 hurt in QC, Rizal

MANILA, Philippines—Three people were killed while 14 others were injured as three road accidents, which all involved trucks, occurred separately shortly before dawn on Tuesday.

In Taytay, Rizal, a runaway 10-wheel truck rammed into two houses by the side of the road at 4:15 a.m., running over and killing a slumbering 68-year-old man and leaving 13 others injured.

PO3 Gilbert Cabasag said the truck with plate number SRL 306 owned by Iris Tan of Silang, Cavite, was on its way to Antipolo City when its brakes failed. It rolled down Ortigas Avenue Extension in Tikling, Balagot 2, Barangay (village) Dolores until it struck two houses, one made of light materials.

Jaimar Calextro, one of the truck’s two passengers, identified the driver as Mark Trabalio although the police said they were still verifying the latter’s identity.

Calextro, a truck helper, told authorities that they were going up a sloping portion of the road when the accident happened.

“The truck ended up moving backwards as the weight of the sand it was carrying pulled it down. It ended up plowing into the two houses,” Cabasag said.

Calextro was unhurt as he managed to jump out of the vehicle before impact. Trabalio, on the other hand, immediately escaped.

A police report identified the fatality as Domingo Francisco, one of the occupants of the house made of light materials.

Cabasag said Francisco was asleep in his room when the runaway truck ran over him.

“He was pinned underneath one of the truck’s tires,” the policeman added, pointing out that it took more than two hours to retrieve the victim’s body.

By the time Francisco was taken to Taytay Emergency Medical Center, it was too late. His housemates Anna Rose Valdez, 17; Marian Salles, 2; CJ Salles, 8; Glenda Salles, 26; Nicole Salles, 5; Johnric Salles, 6; Angelo Francisco, 28; Marisa Francisco, 68; and Diane Abenon, 13, were treated for injuries.

Four other people in the adjacent house were also hurt. They were identified as John Lester Eustaquio, 6; John Lenon Eustaquio, 4; Eleanor Eustaquio, 33; and John Michael Eustaquio, 33.

Among the injured, only Marian Salles and Diane Abenon remained in the hospital for fractures, the police said.

Cabasag said the truck driver would be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, multiple physical injuries and damage to property.

In Quezon City, two men were killed just minutes apart in accidents involving trucks.

The first one happened around 4:30 a.m. on Katipunan Avenue in Barangay Blue Ridge as Wilfredo Reyes, 51, driver of a charcoal delivery truck (RKK 217) from Sta. Maria in Laguna province, was headed for Navotas City.

Chief Insp. Erlito Renegin, head of the Quezon City Police District’s Camp Karingal-based traffic sector, said that Reyes crashed his truck into the rear of another cargo truck owned by United Auctioneers Inc. and driven by Ramon Canlas.

The impact destroyed the front of Reyes’ truck and responding Metropolitan Manila Development Authority rescue personnel worked for an hour to get the badly wounded driver out of the wreckage.

His 17-year-old helper Carlos Avenceña was only slightly injured although he could not say how the accident occurred because he was asleep at that time.

Renegin said that Reyes was declared dead on arrival by doctors at Quirino Memorial Medical Center due to massive head and body injuries. He pointed out that it was possible that Reyes fell asleep at the wheel.

Several minutes later, an Isuzu Elf truck driven by 25-year-old Leonardo Fuego ran over Ricardo Quilana as he was crossing Quirino Highway in Novaliches.

The victim was taken to Novaliches General Hospital but was also declared dead on arrival by doctors. Fuego, meanwhile, told authorities that he failed to notice the pedestrian.—With Jeannette I. Andrade