Wayward truck kills 6

MANILA, Philippines - Six people were killed while eight others were injured when a wayward truck rammed into a number of vehicles, a police station and bystanders in Taytay, Rizal yesterday.

The accident resulted in a traffic jam along Cabrera Road in Barangay Dolores as responding policemen helped rush the victims to nearby hospitals.

Four of the fatalities were identified as Noel Almorado, Darryl Santiago, Gaylord Fernandez, and 11-year-old Kelvin Cruz.

The truck driver, a certain Enrico Enriquez, and a female companion were extricated from the wreckage but both died before reaching the hospital.

Those injured were Judy Ann Santos Espinosa; PO1s Harold Carbonnel, Christian Cantanero and Ronellie Miranda; Farrel Mercado, his wife Cynthia, and children Gian Franco, 5, and Cherry Mae. They were brought to the Manila East Medical Center in Taytay town.

Investigation showed that the truck, loaded with gravel and sand, was cruising Cabrera Road at around 11:30 a.m. yesterday when Enriquez lost control of the vehicle.

Witnesses said the truck hit Almorado, who was walking on the sidewalk along with his pregnant wife, Judy Ann.

Almorado pushed his wife out of harm’s way and was dragged by the truck in the process.

The truck then hit the Mitsubishi Montero Sport (with license plate POE-903) of the Mercado family, resulting in serious injuries to the couple and their two children.

Photo shows the wrecked motorcycle of Gaylord Fernandez, one of the six fatalities in the road mishap in Taytay, Rizal yesterday. BOY SANTOS

The truck, according to witnesses, continued its wild descent, hitting the concrete barriers and bystanders before smashing into the police sub-station where the three wounded policemen were on duty.

Fernandez was on board his motorcycle when struck by the truck, while Cruz was walking on the sidewalk when he was hit, with the impact severing the boy’s head from his body.

Enriquez and his female companion were trapped behind the steering wheel and the truck’s front seat, respectively. Rescue workers had to use a chainsaw to extricate them.

A helper of Enriquez, still unidentified, ran away before responding policemen could interrogate him.

The wayward truck, with license plate DVH-151, came to a stop after smashing into the police sub-station.

As of press time, police were still determining the owner of the truck for the possible filing of charges.