3 motorists dead, 5 hurt in Koronadal City highway mishap

COTABATO CITY — Three women died instantly while five others were hurt in a road accident along a highway in Barangay Saravia in Koronadal City late Tuesday.

The Koronadal City Police Office, in an initial report released an hour after the incident, said Rogela Bayang, 24, Vivian Hilaria 18, and her 21-year-old sister, Rhealyn Hilaria, succumbed to injuries sustained when a pick-up truck of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources 12 hit them head-on while they were heading to a stretch of the Koronadal-General Santos Highway in Purok Ilang-ilang in Barangay Saravia.

Witnesses have confirmed to police investigators that the BFAR-12’s white Mitsubishi Strada pick-up truck, then on its way to the Koronadal City proper, first overtook a tricycle and, as its driver maneuvered through the other lane, rammed the two motorcycles approaching from the opposite direction of the highway.

The accident left five passengers of the pick-up truck, Ryan Tapon, 22, Roderick Tapon, 49, Reynan Lara, 40, Kenneth Fronda, 24, and the 38-year-old James Enrejo, injured. 

The 34-year-old driver of the pick-up truck, Pelong Dangkalan, supposedly en route to Banga town in South Cotabato with his five companions, is now in the custody of the Koronadal CPO.

Brig. Gen. Percival Augustus Placer, director of the Police Regional Office-12, told reporters on Wednesday that he has directed police officials in Koronadal City to determine if Dangkalan had a requisite trip ticket from their office when he used its vehicle after office hours.