Two dead, one injured as van slams into tree in Iloilo

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Two people died and another was injured after a utility van rammed into a tree on the afternoon of October 25 in Jaro, Iloilo City.

The fatalities were identified as Harold, a resident of Maasin, Iloilo, and alias Gil, a resident of Cabatuan, Iloilo.

Alias Melchor, 59, the van’s driver and a resident of Barangay Tuy-an West, Maasin, survived the crash.

He complained of pain on the right side of his forehead and the lower part of his back.

Melchor was taken to the Asia Pacific Medical Center in Jaro District for treatment.
According to reports, Melchor was driving an Isuzu Traviz utility van registered to

Marmolejo’s Builders and Construction Supplies when the incident occurred.
He had Harold and Gil as his passengers.

They were traveling along Iloilo Circumferential Road 1 in Barangay Balabago, Jaro, around 2:40 p.m. on Saturday, heading toward the Coastal Road, when the vehicle’s right front tire blew out.

Police reports said the driver panicked and lost control of the steering wheel.

The van eventually crashed into a roadside tree.

While Melchor suffered body pain, his passengers sustained severe injuries.

Harold was taken to the Metro Iloilo Medical Hospital and Medical Center, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Gil was brought to the Western Visayas Medical Center, where he was also pronounced dead on arrival.

Reports said the vehicle sustained damage to the right front bumper, windshield, and front panel.

Information from authorities indicated that the three were en route to “rescue” one of the construction firm’s trucks along the Coastal Road when the accident happened.

Traffic investigators are not ruling out the possibility that speeding contributed to the crash.