1 killed, 3 injured in Pilar road mishap

By Felipe V. Celino

ROXAS CITY, Capiz — One person was killed and three others were injured when a pickup truck sideswiped a farmer and then crashed into a top-down tricycle before hitting a tree Thursday afternoon, March 26, at Sitio Relis, Barangay Dulangan, Pilar, Capiz.

Reports from the Pilar Municipal Police Station said the incident happened around 5:40 p.m. while a Toyota Hilux pickup driven by alias “Ruel,” 62, of Barangay Daculan, Estancia, Iloilo, with his foreign passenger alias “Earl,” was on its way to Estancia from Roxas City when it swerved into the road gutter and sideswiped alias “Amelito,” 75, a farmer and resident of Barangay Olalo, Pilar, who was walking along the road.

The Toyota Hilux pickup then hit the top-down tricycle driven by alias “Ernesto,” 62, of Barangay Dulangan, Pilar, who was also injured, before the truck hit a tree.

Police Capt. Achilles P. Fangco Jr., chief of the Pilar Municipal Police Station, said alias “Amelito” was rescued by the Pilar Emergency Response Team and brought to Bailan District Hospital in Pontevedra town, where the attending doctor declared him dead on arrival.

Alias “Ruel” and his foreign passenger were also injured in the incident and were brought to Capiz Doctor Hospital in Roxas City, while the top-down tricycle driver, who suffered a head injury, was also brought to Bailan District Hospital.

Police are investigating to determine the cause of the incident and the extent of the damage, while the pickup truck and the tricycle are under the custody of the Pilar Municipal Police Station.