10 dead in SCTEx toll plaza crash
MABALACAT CITY—At least 10 people died while 30 others were injured in a multi-vehicle collision at the northbound exit toll plaza of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) in Tarlac City on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
According to the Tarlac provincial police, charges are being prepared against the driver of the Solid North passenger bus that triggered the crash.
In a report to the Central Luzon regional police office, the Tarlac police identified the driver as Teodoro Merjan, a resident of Lingayen, Pangasinan.
Merjan, who was among those injured in the crash, will face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, multiple physical injuries and multiple damage to property, according to the police.
Varying reports
The Philippine Red Cross initially confirmed eight of the fatalities, but varying reports, including those coming from emergency responders from the Tarlac Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said the death toll could reach 12. The identities of the fatalities, who were on board a Nissan Urvan van and a Kia Sonet subcompact sport utility vehicle (SUV), were not immediately known.
Marvin Guiang, Tarlac PDRRMO officer, told the Inquirer that 10 people, four of them children, died while being taken to the Tarlac Provincial Hospital in Tarlac City. He said the ages of the adult and children fatalities were being verified as of Thursday night.
According to Guiang, all fatalities were on board the Nissan van and Kia SUV. The injured included the bus conductor and 28 passengers.
Guiang said the bus driver probably fell asleep while approaching the toll road exit plaza.
“I heard the driver telling policemen that he was startled to see that the other vehicles were already in front of him. So, probably, that means he fell asleep while driving,” he told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.
Sources from the PDRRMO said other victims were taken to different hospitals in Tarlac but they could not confirm the exact number of fatalities and injured.
The accident occurred at 12:18 p.m. when the Solid North bus, with plate No. UVK 941, rammed into the rear of the Nissan Urvan that was queued at the toll plaza. The van was then pushed forward, colliding with the Kia Sonet SUV in front of it.
Also involved in the pileup were a trailer truck and a Toyota Veloz. Both the Nissan van and the Kia SUV were crushed between the bus and the trailer truck, according to police reports.
Bus firm suspended
Authorities continued to assess the full extent of the damage and casualties as of Thursday night.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Thursday, the Department of Transportation said Secretary Vince Dizon asked the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to “immediately issue a suspension order” against Solid North following the accident. —WITH A REPORT FROM JEROME ANING
