By Jennifer P. Rendon
Two young individuals were killed, and six others were injured after their car collided with a wing van early morning on January 27 in Jaro, Iloilo City.
The fatalities were identified as Rizalyn Anacan, 24, of Zone 5, Barangay Cayos, Dumangas, and her cousin, the car’s driver, Kim Joseph Sumaguio, 22, of Barangay Magancina, Sta. Barbara.
Anacan, an Education student at Iloilo Science and Technology University’s main campus, was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. Sumaguio, a second-year student at St. Therese College, died while undergoing treatment.
The crash also injured six others: John Sultan Quintilla, 32; Elmo dela Cruz, 19; Rogerson Bardullas, 19; James Lorenz Sucero, 18; Von Cydrick Mabug-at, 27; and Ella Alamo, 23. The group sustained multiple abrasions and injuries.
Quintilla, dela Cruz, Bardullas, and Sucero are all from Barangay Magancina, Sta. Barbara, while Mabug-at hails from Barangay Cali, Dumangas, and Alamo is from Barangay Bata, Bacolod City.
According to Corporal Andy Pava of the Iloilo City Police Office Traffic Enforcement Unit, the group was traveling in a Mitsubishi Mirage G4 sedan, with eight people squeezed inside the small vehicle. Two passengers sat in the front, one on another’s lap, while five crowded the back seat.
The group had been partying at the Dinagyang Festival in Festive Walk, Mandurriao, Iloilo City. They were en route to Dumangas to drop off Anacan when the crash occurred.
Pava said Alamo, whom the group met during the festival, had hitched a ride to the Dumangas Port.
The incident happened around 4:45 a.m. on the Circumferential Road in Barangay Tacas, Jaro. Witnesses reported that the sedan was speeding and overtook a pick-up truck before veering into the opposite lane and colliding with an oncoming wing van.
The van’s driver, Freddie Serios, 28, of Zone 3, Purok Tahong, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, attempted to avoid the collision. He swerved to the opposite side of the road, scaling the gutter and crashing into roadside railings, but was unable to prevent the accident.
Serios was arrested and is in police custody pending further investigation and proper case disposition.
