ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Dec. 15 (PNA) –- A collision between two passenger vans left at least five passengers dead along the national highway of Villaba town in Leyte on Wednesday afternoon.
A police report stated that the van E.R. Jr., a Toyota Hi Ace owned by Ephraim Requitillo, Jr. bound to Palompon town from Ormoc City, failed to control the steering wheel due to slippery road and bumped into the Gee Rhaim van from the opposite route in A. Tumamak village, Villaba town.
The vehicle glided and ran crisscross before it finally headed to the lane of the other vehicle. The head-on collision caused severe damage to both vehicles but the five passengers including the driver of Gee Rhaim, also a Toyota Hi Ace van, sustained only minor injuries.
Three of E.R. Jr.’s seven passengers reportedly died on the spot including the driver, while another was declared dead on arrival at the community hospital. Other injured commuters were rushed to Ormoc City hospital where one was pronounced dead.
“I stopped when I saw the van moving unstable after it glided while stirring down near our direction,” Gee Rhaim’s driver Themestocles Hortelano recalled.
The Requitillo family attended to the needs of the victims. (PNA)