Courtesy: Bayani Bacuño
FIVE people were killed and four others were injured in an early morning mishap along Maharlika Highway in Lopez town in Quezon province.
The Quezon police said in a report that the tuk-tuk, a three wheeled vehicle, being driven by Julius Brin, 32, was traveling at 2:10 a.m. to Albay province when it was bumped from behind by a truck driven by Ernesto Alberto, 51, in a section of the highway in Barangay Canda Ilaya.
The tuk-tuk suddenly burst into flames due to impact and bumped the rear section of a passenger bus driven by Amor Pedragosa, 47, running ahead.
The bus also caught fire, but its passengers were all unharmed, reports said.
The report said four of the tuk-tuk passengers – Cheska Jucares, 28; Riza Brin, 25; and two boys, Jasper and Jarid died on the spot from severe burns on their bodies. Jaymar Lunas expired while being treated at the hospital in the town center.
Tuktuk driver Brin and three of his passengers — Leopoldo Brin, 57, and two girls, Julia and Janella (both minors) sustained injuries and were confined in a local hospital.
In a phone interview by Inquirer.net, Police Lieutenant Colonel Dandy Aguilar, Lopez police chief, quoting information from the bus driver, said the 40 passengers quickly disembarked before the fire spread inside the vehicle.
Aguilar said the tuk-tuk passengers were all family members and residents of Antipolo City. They were supposed to go to Albay for a vacation and attend a fiesta celebration.
The truck driver was placed under police custody.
