3 hurt as PNR train hits cab at railroad crossing in Manila

MANILA, Philippines—Three persons were hurt when a Philippine National Railways (PNR) train crashed into a taxi cab crossing the railroad tracks in Manila before dawn Tuesday.

Rodrigo Tabor Jr., 31, of Valenzuela City, and his passenger Lawrence Bulanyungan, 49, of Quezon City, were slightly injured in the accident and were discharged from the hospital after receiving medical treatment for abrasions and bruises.

Another passenger, Lambert Bulatao, 54, of Tandang Sora, Quezon City, remains confined in the hospital after sustaining injuries on his ribs when PNR Train 101DMR05 struck the left rear portion of the cab.

Senior Police Officer 1 Mario Lising, of Manila Police District Traffic Enforcement Unit (MPD-TEU), said the accident happened around 5:15 a.m. Tuesday along the railroad tracks between Antipolo and Algeciras Streets, crossing España Boulevard in Sampaloc.

Lising told the Inquirer that the taxi was traveling toward Quezon City when the Bicol-bound train crashed into the vehicle. Bystanders immediately took the three injured men to the nearby United Doctors Medical Center.

“Tabor claimed he did not see the train coming so he crossed the tracks. He also said there was no crossing barrier,” the traffic investigator said.

Lising said that they would determine the veracity of Tabor’s claim.—With Karen Boncocan, INQUIRER.net