Van Driver Dies, 19 Hurt in Antique Road Crash

By Jennifer P. Rendon and Rjay Zuriaga Castor

A van driver died while 19 others were injured after his vehicle collided head-on with a passenger bus along the national highway in Barangay Fragante, Pandan, Antique, on the morning of May 19.

The victim, identified as Dioleto Nagor, 64, of Barangay Jumarap, Banga, Aklan, died on the spot after being pinned inside his wrecked white tourist van.

Police said Nagor was driving toward Pandan from Nabas, Aklan, when he veered into the opposite lane and crashed into a Ceres Liner bus bound for Kalibo.

CCTV footage reviewed by the Pandan Municipal Police Station showed the van speeding and swerving erratically on a wet road due to early morning rain.

“The van overshot the line of the Ceres bus while navigating a curve and was in the outer lane,” said Police Lt. Allan Otis, deputy chief of the Pandan Municipal Police Station.

The collision caused the bus to swerve off the road and slam into a concrete house, damaging its front terrace and a concrete post.

None of the residents inside the house were injured.

The bus was carrying 18 passengers and was driven by Arnel Amarillo, 48, of Barangay San Francisco Sur, Tibiao, Antique.

Nine passengers were brought to Justice Calixto Zaldivar Memorial Hospital in Pandan, while others were taken to a hospital in Kalibo, Aklan.

Some of the injured were discharged after outpatient treatment and resumed their trip.

Amarillo is currently in police custody pending further investigation.

“We are still determining who will be held liable, as the investigation is ongoing,” Otis said.