6 DEAD, 20 INJURED IN TAYTAY TRUCK CRASH
Six people died, including an infant and her mother, while at least 20 others were injured after a trailer truck went wayward and crashed into a row of shops and parked tricycles in Taytay, Rizal province, on Saturday morning.
The Taytay police said the 10-wheeler truck (TBP 967) was on Cabrera Road going to Tikling when its brakes failed around 9 a.m. It slammed into structures next to a tricycle terminal in Barangay Dolores.
Baby pulled from wreck
The six fatalities sustained fractures and serious head and face injuries, according to Richard Marcellano, a rescue team leader from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office who responded to the incident.
They were identified as Mary Gimpis, 33, and her 1year-old daughter Princess; Maria Remedios Apejas, 16; Luis Bustamante, 59; Teresita Bonaobra, 64, and Rolando Ricafort, 47. Bonaobra was reportedly the landlady of a bakery and a barber shop that were among establishments damaged, while Bustamante and Ricafort were tricycle drivers.
All residents of Dolores, the six died on the spot, with the infant the last to be pulled out of the wreckage.
The 20 injured were mostly bystanders and pedestrians, and also included the truck’s driver Paul John Teston, 22, and his helper Christan Chua, 20. Teston and Chua were treated at Mayor June V. Zapanta Emergency Hospital for minor injuries.
Charges vs driver
The Taytay police chief, Supt. Samuel Delorino, said Teston, a resident of Lupang Arenda, Barangay Sta. Ana, also in Taytay, would face charges for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, physical injuries and damage to property.
His employer, Jessy N Jassy trucking services, may face civil liabilities, Delorino added.
Footage from a closed-circuit television camera in the area showed the truck first hitting the rear end of a tricycle and then swerving out of control.
It was carrying an empty freight container, which broke off and hit a tree. The truck plowed through the shops and at least seven parked tricycles and three motorbikes before coming to a full stop.