Three dead in road accidents

An L100 van loaded with 17 passengers, including its driver, fell on its side when it figured into an accident at Barangay Talaban, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental killing two persons Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Himamaylan City Police Station)

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Three persons, including two senior citizens, were killed in separate road accidents in Negros Occidental last Friday and Saturday.

In Sagay City, an elderly woman died after she was hit by a transport vehicle of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Escalante in Barangay Poblacion 1 last Friday.

Police identified the victim as Erlinda Malunahao, 76, of Cadiz City.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonel Guadalupe, Sagay City police chief, said jail officer Jimmy Fortaleza Jr. lost control of the BJMP vehicle as he passed through an uneven portion of the road, causing the vehicle to swerve and collide with a sedan and a tricycle parked on the roadside where the victim was standing.

The BJMP vehicle was on its way to Sagay City when the accident happened, according to the police.

Malunahao was declared dead on arrival at a hospital, according to Guadalupe.

The following day in Himamaylan City, two women were dead while 15 others, including five minors were wounded in an accident in Barangay Talaban.

Police Lieutenant Romulo Gepilango, deputy police chief of Himamaylan City Police Station, said that 17 persons, including a driver were riding an L100 van when the latter lost control of the vehicle, causing it to swerve and turn turtle.

Gepilango identified the fatalities as Edna Tupas, 61, of Barangay 1; and Rose Baguios, 59, of Barangay III, who were both sitting at the front seat.

Gepilango said that Baguios’s son Brian, 36 was driving the vehicle ridden by their families and relatives.

Of the wounded, two were admitted, five were referred to a hospital here, and eight others were considered outpatients, according to the police.