By Jennifer P. Rendon
Two young riders were killed after their motorcycle collided with a four-wheel vehicle evening of Jan 27, 2022 in Anilao, Iloilo.
Jerome Lee Manto and EJ Ventolero, both 16 years old and residents of Barangay Badiang, Anilao town, perished in the incident.
The incident happened as the two teenage boys were navigating along Barangay Serallo around 9 p.m. Jan 27.
Manto was driving a MotoStar 125 motorcycle while Ventolero was his backrider. The duo allegedly came from a fiesta in a village in Anilao,
Both victims were not wearing a crash helmet when the incident happened.
Witnesses claimed that the driver overtook a Ceres bus liner while negotiating a blind curb at Barangay Serallo.
They crossed to the other lane and was hit by a Nissan Frontier pick-up that was running on the other side of the road.
They crashed into the bus before they were thrown off the vehicle.
Both teenagers were rushed to Don Jose S. Monfort Extension Hospital in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo for treatment.
Manto was declared dead on arrival while Ventolero died while undergoing treatment.
Investigation showed that the two boys were speeding, and their motorcycle had no headlights on when the incident happened.
Pick-up driver Adonis Pueren, a resident of San Rafael, Iloilo and bus driver Richard Cabarillos were subsequently taken into police custody.
