Accidents all over

MANILA, Philippines -  Three persons died and five others were hurt in three vehicular accidents that occurred within minutes of each other yesterday morning as tropical storm “Juaning” made Metro Manila’s roads slick.

Falling from the Skyway

In Sucat, Parañaque, a passenger bus fell 40 feet from the Skyway ramp to the West Service Road shortly before noon, killing three and injuring four others.

Bus driver Joven Justol of Dimple Star Transport Corp. was dead on arrival at the Parañaque Medical Center. Passengers Anthony Abarra, 21; and Lorenzo Gabo, 27, died while being treated. They suffered broken bones, a cracked skull and crushed chest.

Conductor Jonathan Alebar, who was rushed to the same hospital, sustained wounds but is in stable condition.

The other passengers – Rene Mendez, 34; Gerardo Frisco, 37; and Catherine Josol, 33 – were brought to South Super Highway Medical Center for treatment. All of them were declared out of danger.

Speeding, driver error

Skyway vice president Ed Nepomuceno said the bus was “speeding” while traversing the southbound portion of the Skyway in Sucat when it fell. Skyway imposed a minimum speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour and a maximum of 80 kph for buses.

He said the mishap was clearly a case of speeding and “driver error,” adding that the elevated expressway had all the necessary barriers that will prevent any vehicle from falling.

The Skyway “was built in accordance with all the international safety standards,” Nepomuceno said. “The problem is, the driver was driving at high speed. He lost control. He panicked and swerved, so he flew off the Skyway.”

 Senior Superintendent Edwin Butacan, spokesman of the Philippine National Police – Highway Patrol Group, said Justol “was seen racing with another unidentified bus...and lost control, plunging down 40 feet below from the Skyway ramp.”

But according to Alebar, the bus was not even running fast when they fell off. He said it was raining hard and they were running at 60 kph when he noticed the bus was already going over the railing.

“I thought it was the end of me,” he said, adding the last words he muttered were “Diyos ko po (my God).”

“I closed my eyes, leaned my head on the chair, and prayed for the Lord to give me a second chance,” he added.

The bus, he said, fell front first but landed upright. The windows were all broken and the chairs were no longer secured to the vehicle floor.

Alebar immediately looked for Justol, whose mouth was “full of blood.”

“I had a feeling he will not survive but I still told him to hang on and be strong. Then I looked at the other passengers. Two looked okay, while another two looked critical,” he said. Had the bus overturned, Alebar said none of them would have survived.

Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said it has asked for a police report on the accident and is scheduled to issue an order today suspending the bus firm for one month. It will also order Dimple Star Transport to explain in writing why its franchise should not be cancelled.

1 hurt in 7-vehicle EDSA-Ayala tunnel smashup

A 53-year-old British man was injured in a seven-vehicle smashup along the southbound lanes of the EDSA-Ayala Avenue tunnel in Makati City at around 11:45 a.m.

SPO1 Diosdado Singun, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) case investigator, said Paul Andrew was treated for minor head injuries at the Makati Medical Center and later released.

Singun said Andrew was driving his Honda CRV (XEY-279) along the inner lane of the tunnel when he hit a Jeep Commander (ZMI-777) in front of him when it suddenly stopped.

Andrew’s car was rear-ended by a Bicol-bound Elavil Tours Philippines bus (EVP-598), trapping him. Singun said the CRV was a total wreck.

Singun said the Jeep Commander then hit a Toyota Hi-Ace van (WDJ-651). The Hi-Ace van then hit a Toyota Revo (XAJ-279). The Revo then hit a Starex van (without license plates) that stopped to avoid hitting a Leyte-bound United Land Transport bus (TYS-496).

According to Singun, it appears that the smashup was triggered by the United Land Transport bus that stopped after it was allegedly told to do so by an MMDA enforcer on a motorcycle.

Singun said they are tracking down the traffic enforcer the bus driver said appeared to have been escorting another vehicle through the tunnel.

The MMDA allows province-bound buses are allowed by the MMDA to use the EDSA-Ayala tunnel.

Shipping container falls off tractor bed

A freak accident occurred along the Delpan Bridge in Tondo, Manila during a heavy downpour at around 10 a.m., when a 40-foot shipping container fell off its tractor bed.

Driver Juanito Abegado told police the truck’s differential accidentally detached, causing the tractor bed to tilt to one side and making the container fall off. No one was hurt in the incident, which disrupted traffic on both lanes of the bridge. – With Rainier Allan Ronda, Reinir Padua, Nestor Etolle