Pickup Truck Kills Jogger, Injures Two Others

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – A 53-year-old jogger died and two of her companions were injured after they were hit by a pickup truck outside the entrance of Manville Royale Subdivision in Barangay Pahanocoy on Tuesday morning.

Police withheld the names of the three victims and the 59-year-old driver, a resident of Barangay Sum-ag.

Police Lt. Col. Ramel Sarona, head of the Traffic Enforcement Unit, said the victims regularly gathered in the area to jog along with other individuals exercising nearby.

At the time of the incident, the victims were posing for a group photo in the middle of the road, facing away from the village entrance.

As the pickup truck made a turn into the subdivision, it struck them, Sarona said.

The driver claimed he failed to see the group because of intense sunlight.

The incident occurred at around 6:45 a.m.

Sarona said the fatality, a Barangay Sum-ag resident, sustained head injuries and died an hour later in a hospital.

Her two companions, aged 53 and 55, both from Barangay Pahanocoy, sustained minor injuries and are now recovering.

Sarona said the driver is in police custody for 18 hours, pending the decision of the victims’ families.