Ex-mayor hurt in NLEX mishap

Former Malabon City mayor Amado Vicencio was injured after his car rammed the concrete barrier in San Simon, Pampanga along a slippery portion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) while on the way home from visiting relatives in Tarlac yesterday.

Vicencio, 65, sustained a large swollen bruise on the left eye and was undergoing X-ray tests when reached by The STAR yesterday at the Manila Central University (MCU) Hospital in Caloocan City where he was taken.

Vicencio’s son Allan, 38, who was driving the family’s black Ford Expedition (WLK-402), and grandson AJ (Allan’s son), 5, were also hurt in the accident initially blamed on a busted left rear tire and made worse by a heavy downpour.

At the hospital’s emergency section, Allan showed contusions on the left side of the face while waiting his turn at the X-ray room.

He said his son sustained swollen lips and was undergoing further tests.

At presstime, the three were still confined and under observation while results of the tests were being awaited.

The STAR initially gathered that the Vicencios were on their way back to Manila after visiting relatives in Bamban, Tarlac when the incident happened at around 2 p.m.

Allan told The STAR that he was going at around 100 kph on the expressway’s outer lane when the car suddenly swerved and skidded to the left as he instinctively slammed on the brakes.

The car then rammed the center barriers before coming to a sudden stop.

He said he did not notice the car’s left rear tire, a tubeless one, being punctured somewhere on the road until the accident happened at Km 54 between the San Simon, Pampanga, and Pulilan, Bulacan exits.

The elder Vicencio and his grandson, secured by seat belts in the backseat, were thrown forward causing the injuries.

The car’s front was a total wreck.

Allan said they were first taken to a hospital in Pulilan and were given first aid before they were transferred to the MCU Hospital for further treatment.