Brake failure flips Iloilo bus, injures 41

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Forty-one people were slightly injured when a passenger bus flipped on its side in Lambunao, Iloilo, on the afternoon of Feb. 14.

Thirty-seven of the injured were passengers of a Calinog Bus Line unit (license plate DBZ 7277), along with the bus conductor and driver.

Also injured were the two drivers of a motorcycle and a tricycle that the bus sideswiped, police said.

Lt. Gabriel Gilmer Manguera, Lambunao police chief, said none of the victims were confined and all went home after receiving treatment.

Police said the bus was from Iloilo City and was bound for Tapaz, Capiz, when the incident happened.

The bus driver, Glen, 45, of Barangay Tibiao, Calinog, was navigating a downhill portion of Barangay Maribong, Lambunao, at about 3:40 p.m. Saturday when he noticed the brakes were not working.

The bus sideswiped a Kawasaki Bajaj motorcycle traveling in the same direction, police said.

The bus continued and hit a parked Isuzu Elf truck and a tricycle, authorities said.

About 150 meters after hitting the motorcycle, the bus flipped on its side.

Members of the Lambunao Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office brought the victims to Dr. Ricardo Ladrido Memorial Hospital in Lambunao and Dr. Ricardo Provido Memorial Hospital in Calinog for treatment.

Manguera said Glen was placed under the temporary custody of the Lambunao Municipal Police Station for proper disposition of his case.