MANILA, Philippines - Three were injured after a speeding dump truck racing with another truck rear-ended a closed van triggering a series of collisions on the southbound lane of A. Bonifacio Avenue in Quezon City.
Senior Inspector Erlito Renejin, Traffic Sector 1 commander, identified the injured as Jaime Dacutan, 40, of San Jose del Monte, driver of Isuzu closed van (UJA-969); Danilo de Belen, 29, of San Isidro Nueva Ecija, a cargo truck passenger; and Romeo Santinises, 31, of Marilao, Bulacan, Dacutan’s passenger.
The victims were all taken to the Chinese General Hospital for injuries in the head and body.
The vehicles involved included are an Isuzu dump truck (CAJ-748); Dacutan’s Isuzu closed van (UJA-969); an Isuzu Cargo Truck(RVX-718) driven by Arnulfo Causo; a Mitsubishi aluminum van (EVK-237) driven by George Milagrosa, 33; a Toyota Corolla sedan (PPU-178) of Anthony Francis Milanes, 34; an Isuzu dump truck (CFU-241) driven by Bonifacio Gonzales, 43; and a Toyota Innova (ZFK-337) owned by Zaldy Lopez, 40.
Investigators said the still unidentified driver of the Isuzu dump truck (CAJ-748) that started it all fled after the incident.
The smash up occurred at 5 a.m. yesterday at the corner of the Manila-bound lane of A. Bonifacio Avenue corner of Mauban Street, Quezon City. The dump truck driver was reportedly racing with another truck from Balintawak on to Blumentritt when the crash happened.
Investigation showed the vehicles that were damaged by the speeding dump truck were all traveling on the southbound direction at 5 a.m. when upon reaching Mauban street, the suspect hit Dacutan’s Isuzu closed van.
The impact shoved the van into the rear of the cargo truck driven by Causo with injured victims Santinises and De Belen on board as passengers.
Without slowing down, the suspect rammed the rear of the aluminum van driven by Milagrosa.
Milagrosa rear-ended the Toyota Corolla sedan of Milanes which in turn rammed Lopez’s Toyota Innova slamming into the dump truck driven by Gonzales.
Rescuers from the MMDA had to use power tools to extricate the victims pinned in the accident.
The unidentified suspect is now the subject of a manhunt. - By Jerry Botial
