19-vehicle smashup on C-5 flyover leaves 1 dead
A motorcycle rider died while four others were hurt in a collision involving 19 vehicles on the C-5 flyover in Ortigas, Pasig City yesterday morning.
Jeffrey Lanza was pinned under a closed van and died while being treated at a hospital, said Senior Superintendent Orlando Yebra Jr., Pasig City police chief.
Another victim, a still unidentified man, was rushed to the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig, he added.
Three others who were hurt were sent home after receiving first aid on site.
Initial investigation showed that driver Juan Mirabuena Esteban, 42, lost control of the 10-wheeler truck (PFY-692), loaded with wheat husks, along the northbound lane of the flyover in Barangay Ugong at around 10:22 a.m.
The truck was going down the flyover when it swerved into the southbound lane, resulting in a smashup involving several cars, taxicabs, a closed van, Asian utility vehicles and motorcycles, police said.
Esteban surrendered to traffic investigators from the Pasig police.
He claimed that he stepped on the brakes but the truck continued to move forward, first hitting a Toyota Fortuner (ZDF-686) driven by Jelson Rosales. At least 17 more vehicles were involved in the smashup.
A Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) ambulance rushed the victims to the hospital.
The incident prompted the MMDA to totally close the flyover’s southbound lane, causing heavy traffic in the area until the MMDA cleared it of vehicles at around 1:15 p.m.