By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY — Five people were killed and another was injured in two separate road accidents involving motorcycles and rescue vehicles in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on May 13 and 14.
The initial accident occurred on Monday in Barangay 1, where three motorcycle riders died. The deceased were identified as Glenn Ramirez, 35, of Barangay Oringao; Joeven Pineda, 31, of Nueva Ecija; and Brix Rallos, 21, of Barangay Hilamonan.
According to Police Captain Joelan Vinson, deputy chief of Kabankalan City Police Station, the accident happened around 4:10 p.m. as Ramirez and his companions were heading to the new market and collided with a Barangay Camingawan rescue vehicle.
Vinson noted that Ramirez did not see a traffic enforcer signaling all vehicles to stop to allow the rescue vehicle to pass, leading to the fatal collision.
Vinson added that the rescue vehicle, which was transporting a patient to Kabankalan District Hospital, was not damaged, and the driver and patient were unharmed.
He mentioned that an initial settlement had been reached, and the barangay had assured assistance to the victims’ families.
The rescue vehicle driver will be released from police custody after the mandatory 18-hour detention period.
A subsequent accident early the next day resulted in two more fatalities and one injury. This incident involved a motorcycle colliding with another rescue vehicle from Cauayan town at around 1:50 a.m. in Barangay Talubangi.
The fatalities were identified as John Philip Atillaga, 25, of Cauayan, a rescue aide, and Reymark Cagas, 28, of Kabankalan City, the motorcycle driver. Romel Bacolod, 35, also from Kabankalan City, was injured.
Vinson reported that Cagas had overlapped into the lane of the oncoming rescue vehicle, resulting in a head-on collision.
Despite the rescue vehicle driver’s attempt to avoid the speeding motorcycle, the collision was unavoidable.
Atillaga was trapped in the vehicle, but the patient being transported was unharmed and reached the hospital safely.
The local government of Cauayan has reached out to the victims’ families to offer support following these tragic events.
