By Glazyl M. Jopson
BACOLOD CITY – A 37-year-old tricycle driver was killed after being buried under a load of sugarcane stalks during a road accident involving a trailer truck in Barangay Paraiso, Sagay City, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday night.
Police identified the victim as Edmund Barcenilla of Barangay Cabahug, Cadiz City.
Police Lt. Col. Alvimar Flores, head of Sagay Police, said a trailer truck loaded with sugarcane was following a wing van truck when it encountered a mechanical failure on a descending road at around 8:40 p.m.
The truck’s brakes reportedly malfunctioned, causing its sugarcane load to spill onto the road. Barcenilla, who was driving a tricycle with his 25-year-old relative as a passenger, was struck by the falling load while crossing from the opposite direction.
Flores said rescuers took about two hours to recover Barcenilla from beneath the sugarcane stalks. His relative managed to jump off the tricycle and suffered only minor injuries.
The trailer truck was en route to a sugar mill, while the tricycle was on its way home when the accident occurred.
The two truck drivers involved sustained minor injuries but have since been discharged from the hospital.
Flores confirmed that the 52-year-old driver of the trailer truck is now in police custody.
Authorities are awaiting Barcenilla’s family’s decision regarding the filing of a case against the truck driver.
