7 children among 20 killed in La Union Christmas Day collision

The ill-fated passenger jeepney from Bauang town in La Union. Twenty people were killed, 7 of them children when it collided with a bus at 3:30 a.m. in Agoo town. PHOTO/Gabriel Cardinoza

AGOO, La Union – Seven children were among the 20 killed on Christmas Day when a passenger jeepney collided with a bus here at 3:30 a.m. along the southbound lane of the Manila North Road in Barangay (village) San Jose Sur.

Six-month-old Kyle Cabagbag was the youngest fatality. The six other minors were identified as: Mark Jerson Cabero; Anna Karmina Ramiscal; Claudia Cabradilla; and Nadine Joy, Norin Ivy and Neil Ivan, all surnamed Cabueñas, according to a list compiled by the La Union provincial police office.

Chief Insp. Roy Villanueva, Agoo police chief, said the jeepney was speeding and was about to overtake another vehicle when it crashed into a Partas Bus on the northbound lane.

The impact instantly killed 19 of the 29 jeepney passengers, among them: Florence Cabueñas; Pepito and Cecil Antolin; Rolando Perez; Vicky Cabagbag; Jeraldine, Claudine and Jeffrey Cabradilla; Kennedy Cabagbag; Manuelito Lomboy Jr.; and Adila and Vergie Antolin. The 20thfatality, Nelson Cabueñas, died while undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

Nine other jeepney passengers are currently in stable condition at the hospital: Ronald and Wenalyn Cabueñas; Ian Antolin; Chita and Johnny Cabradilla; and minors Ednalyn Ramirez; Herson Cabiro; and Jessa Mae and Jocelyn Cabradilla.

Villanueva also said the jeepney passengers may have been relatives who came from Barangay Pilar in Bauang town in La Union. The jeepney was headed for the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag in Manaoag town in Pangasinan province. The passengers were racing there to hear Mass.