TRUCK DRIVER ASKS FORGIVENESS FOR MISHAP THAT KILLED 17

KIDAPAWAN CITY—The driver of a dump truck that crashed into a passenger van, killing 17 people, said he was ‘deeply sorry’ and sought the forgiveness of the families of those who perished in the accident on Holy Monday.

“It was an accident, it was not intentional,” Edwin Nasiad, 49, who had minor injuries as a result of the incident along the highway in Barangay Luhong of Antipas town of Cotabato province, told reporters here on Tuesday.

Nasiad recalled that the ten-wheeler truck he was driving was descending the highway when he heard two loud cracking sounds from the truck’s engine and transmission system before it hit the passenger van coming from the opposite direction.

“Without the brake system working, I navigated the truck to find a safe spot to stop it,” said Nasiad, adding that he kept blowing its horn before the impact.

Both vehicles flipped and rolled over toward the roadside canal. The van then burst into flames, killing its driver and 16 of its passengers, some of whom were farmers on their way to Kidapawan to receive assistance from the government.

Records from the local government of Antipas showed that the oldest victim was 82, and the youngest, 5. Of the 17 fatalities, 12 were from Antipas. Only Rosario Reyes, former village chief of Barangay Luhong, survived the crash among the van passengers.

Nasiad was with truck helper Wilmark Panoy, 27, and Gregorio Wallace Casiño, 53, a local mediaman who hitched a ride, when the accident happened. The truck was loaded with sand hauled from President Roxas town to a construction site in Arakan town.

Lost consciousness

“I ask for forgiveness from the families of those who died in the accident, no driver would want that to happen,” Nasiad said, even as he maintained that the 10-wheeled cargo truck was in good condition and that he prayed before every trip.

“I lost consciousness after my truck tilted on its side; I did not know that the van burst into flames. When I regained consciousness, I was already in the hospital,” recalled Nasiad, who was currently held at the town police station.

Panoy and Casiño were also injured. Panoy, along with Nasiad, was also detained at the Antipas police station, awaiting the filing of charges.

Candles, prayers

Relatives of those who perished in the highway accident and employees of the local government lit candles and offered prayers for the victims at the crash site on Tuesday.

Antipas Mayor Cris Cadungon also led the distribution of the local government’s P15,000 in financial assistance to the victims’ relatives, while the municipal social welfare and development office extended P10,000 to each of the families plus food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.