14 Injured in Weekend Road Accidents in Negros

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – Fourteen people, including five students, were injured in separate road accidents in Negros Occidental over the weekend.

In San Enrique town, five college students and a bus driver sustained minor injuries in a multiple-vehicle collision in Purok Acacia, Barangay Tabao Rizal on Saturday afternoon.

Police Lt. Dante Eslit, deputy chief of the San Enrique Municipal Police Station, said the students were riding three Ceres Liner buses en route from Kabankalan City to a retreat in Talisay City.

Eslit said two buses were tailing each other while the third was behind a sports utility vehicle.

When the third bus tried to overtake the SUV, the driver lost control, causing a chain collision involving four vehicles.

One bus driver and five passengers from the second and third buses were injured, while the SUV’s driver and passengers were unharmed.

Eslit said the driver of the third bus initially blamed brake malfunction, but CCTV footage later confirmed human error.

He added that rain may have contributed to the driver’s miscalculation while attempting to overtake.

Vallacar Transit Inc. has extended assistance to the victims and reached an initial settlement with those involved.

On Sunday, eight members of a family were injured when the jeepney they were riding fell into a canal in Barangay Salvacion, Murcia town.

Police Maj. Sherwin Fernandez, chief of the Murcia Municipal Police Station, said the family was traveling from Barangay Minautok, Calatrava town to a school in Barangay Alegria, Murcia for a graduation.

The accident happened when the jeep’s front right wheel detached, causing it to swerve into a canal.

Fernandez said the victims sustained minor injuries and were discharged from a private hospital.

He cited mechanical failure and the old condition of the vehicle as the cause of the incident.

Meanwhile, a 55-year-old man died on June 1 after his motorcycle collided with an ambulance transporting a patient in Barangay Camandag, La Castellana town.

Police Maj. Rhojn Darell Nigos, La Castellana police chief, said the man was overtaking a tricycle when he collided head-on with the oncoming ambulance.

He was declared dead at the hospital.

The ambulance driver and patient, who were en route to a hospital in Bacolod City from Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, were unharmed.

In a separate incident, a 41-year-old motorcycle rider died after crashing into an SUV in Barangay Rumirang, Isabela town on June 2.

Police said the SUV, driven by a 47-year-old San Carlos City resident, was executing a U-turn when it was hit by the speeding motorcycle.

The rider later died in the hospital.