‘Hang on rider’ dies after falling from passenger jeep

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A jeepney passenger died after he fell off a passenger jeep.

The incident happened at 2:40 p.m. on August 1 but the victim, 20-year-old Alwyn Eterno, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Iloilo City at around 3:30 a.m. on August 2.

Lieutenant Martin Pugales, Igbaras police chief, said the incident happened as the passenger jeepney was passing through Crossing Pasong, Barangay Jovellar, Igbaras, Iloilo.

Eterno, a resident of Poblacion East, Oton town, came from Igbaras to visit his relatives.

The jeepney was fully-loaded with passengers prompting several others to hang on the jeepney’s stirrup.

The jeepney was speeding as it was negotiating a curve.

Pugales claimed that Eterno may have loosened his grip on the jeepney’s metal railing since his other hand was holding onto his mobile phone.

He fell and hit his head on the pavement. Blood was oozing from his ears when the jeepney conductor checked on him.

Members of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) took Eterno to Rep. Pedro Trono Memorial District Hospital in Guimbal town.

He was immediately referred to a hospital in Iloilo City.

Following the incident, police took into custody jeepney driver Michael John Gepilga, 43, of Igbaras, Iloilo.

But as of Wednesday afternoon, he was released from jail after the reglementary detention period has lapsed.

Pugales said there’s already an initial settlement talks between the victim’s family and the jeepney operator.