MANILA, Philippines – Four children en route to a religious youth camp in Pangasinan were among those who died in a fatal accident along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).
A speeding bus operated by Solid North Bus rammed into four cars near the exit toll plaza of SCTEX, resulting in multiple collision. The driver was sleepy when the crash happened around 12:18 pm on Thursday, May 1.
Marvin Guiang, head of the Tarlac Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the kids were with four adult guardians as they traveled from Antipolo to Pangasinan. Among the nine on board, only the driver survived the incident, sustaining injuries.
The impact of the crash was so severe that the 15-foot Nissan Urvan they were riding was crushed and compacted to just three feet.
“Wala na pong nakikita talaga po, compact talaga… nagdikit-dikit po ‘yung mga katawan (You cannot identify anything, it got compact…the bodies were crushed together),” Guiang told Super Radyo DZBB on Friday, May 2.
He added that they were only able to identify the passengers because of the driver. The bodies of the victims have been transferred to a funeral parlor.
The SCTEX incident killed a total of 10 passengers, including a couple headed to Baguio for a quick getaway with their two-year-old toddler. The child survived and has since been sent home to Bulacan with relatives.
“Hindi namin akalain may bata pa sa loob (We didn’t think that there was a child inside the car),” Guiang said.
“During the investigation, wala kaming narinig na iyak ng bata or kumakatok (we did not hear a child crying or knocking),” he added. The toddler was found secured in a child car seat and sustained minor injuries.
The incident left 31 injured, including the driver and the conductor of the bus that caused the multiple collision. The other 28 injured were bus passengers.
Suspension order issued
The Department of Transportation asked the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to issue a suspension order against Solid North Bus, the operator behind Dagupan Bus Co. The preventive suspension order applies to the following units of Dagupan Bus, which travels to Lingayen in Pangasinan from Cubao, Quezon City:
- UVK-971
- UVK-951
- UVK-961
- UVK-941
- UVM-941
- UVM-364
- UVM-324
- UVT-530
- UVT-569
- UVT-540
- AAI-1901
- DXN-476
- ABE-2905
- ABE-2906
- LZYTBTD69D1068034
Drivers of the affected units are required to undergo a Road Safety Seminar and drug testing within the 30-day suspension. Meanwhile, the bus units will need to pass a roadworthiness inspection. The LTFRB is asking the operator for a video documentation of the requirements.
Meanwhile, the agency also asked for the release of the victims’ insurance claims.
“I instructed PAMI (Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency) to immediately address the needs of those who are involved in the road crash,” LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said in a statement on Friday.
“They should start identifying the dead bodies and indemnify the families — P400,000 for each deceased passenger.”
Bus passengers affected may get P400,000 at most, while pedestrians or those in other vehicles affected by the crash could get up to P200,000. – Rappler.com