Two killed, three others hurt in weekend mishaps

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD CITY – Two persons, including a senior high school student, died while three others were wounded after they figured in separate road accidents in Barangay Caridad, Bago City, Negros Occidental over the weekend.

The first accident killed a 17-year-old girl after an alleged speeding sedan hit her while she was waiting for her 20-year-old cousin and 17-year-old friend at the roadside last Saturday.

Police Staff Sergeant Ronald Javier, traffic investigator of Bago City Police Station, said the sedan driven by a 39-year-old businessman swerved after its driver lost control of the vehicle.

Javier said the sedan first rammed into a motorcycle parked at the roadside. However, the car driver did not stop and instead continued driving until he also hit two other parked motorcycles.

The last hit motorcycle and the senior high school student were dragged by the car from a distance until the motorcycle fell into a canal, he added.

Javier said the fatality’s two companions also suffered minor injuries. The car driver, however, fled from the scene. Police tried to chase him but to no avail.

Early the following day, Javier said the car was recovered abandoned by the driver in Barangay Sampinit. It was traced through a Global Positioning System (GPS) attached to the vehicle, which was rented by the driver for about three days, he added.

Javier said the driver later surrendered to the police and alleged that he dozed off, which led to the accident. He will be released from police custody after the 18-hour reglementary detention, according to Javier.

Javier said that both parties had an initial talk, as the businessman assured assistance to the families of the victims.

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old motorcycle driver from Talisay City also died in a collision with a pickup truck last Sunday.

Police Corporal Kim Iver Cornel, traffic investigator of Bago City Police Station, said that a pickup truck driven by a 68-year-old man from Valladolid town was executing a left turn from a secondary road to the highway when an alleged speeding motorcycle collided with the vehicle.

Cornel said the victim later passed away in a hospital, while the pickup truck driver was wounded and still confined in a hospital here.

Cornel said the victim suffered fatal head and body injuries despite wearing a helmet. He said that both parties have yet to meet.