2 killed, 14 hurt in NLEX smash-ups

MALOLOS CITY — Two persons were killed and at least 14 others were injured in three smash-ups involving 16 vehicles along rain-soaked portions of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Guiguinto, Bulacan at about 2:30 p.m. yesterday.

Larry Olvania, traffic control specialist of the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), said the first smash-up occurred at Kilometer 39, a kilometer away from the Sta. Rita exit, followed by those at Kilometers 40 and 41.

Killed in the smash-ups were the driver of a Genesis Liner bus, and a passenger of a Ford Everest van. Their identities were not immediately available.

Olvania said many of those hurt were rushed to the nearby Bulacan Polymedic Hospital.

The MNTC dispatched medical teams to assist the injured, as well as towing trucks to clear the area, where heavy traffic ensued after the accident, extending up to Kilometer 41 on the southbound lane of the expressway, Olvania said.

The smash-up started at Kilometer 39, involving two 10-wheeler trucks, a Genesis Liner bus, and three vans.

In what Olvania described as a "domino effect," similar smash-ups occurred at Kilome—ters 40 and 41.

Two six-wheeler trucks and a Bataan Liner bus crashed into each other at Kilometer 40, while seven other vehicles, including two Victory Liner buses, a Candon Liner bus, a Ford Everest van, a six-wheeler truck, and a Toyota Altis car, were involved in the Kilometer 41 smash-up.

Meanwhile, a motorist was injured when he lost control of the wheel and crashed his vehicle along the northbound lane of the expressway at about the same time the smash-ups occurred, Olvania said. — Ding Cervantes, James Mananghaya