1 dead, 27 hurt in Luzon bus accidents

By Teddy Molina and Raymund Catindig

VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur – A barangay councilman was killed while 27 others were hurt including four children in northern Luzon bus accidents Thursday.   

In Bantay, Ilocos Sur, killed was Edgar Escobar of Laslasong Norte, Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur after their sport utility vehicle figured in a head-on collision with a Partas bus along the national highway in Bantay

Injured were his relatives Mary Jane Escobar, an overseas Filipino worker from Singapore; Jocelyn Escobar Ursua, her husband Jose and son James; and Marissa Escobar Macahilas and husband Roel who are vacationing from Canada.

Meanwhile, four youngsters, an elderly couple and 15 other people were injured when the bus they were on fell off a roadside cliff and into a ravine in Maria Aurora town, Aurora province, also Thursday morning.

PO3 Jaquel Sigua, duty investigator, said the accident involving the Papin bus liner with license plates CWC-847 happened at 6:30 a.m. while cruising along the main road in Sitio Dimutol, Barangay Dianawan, Maria Aurora.

The driver, CelestinoMarzan, seemed to have lost control of the vehicle after passengers heard something snap.

The bus careened off the road, off the cliff and down into the ravine, said Sigua.

Supt. Nelson Agaton, spokesman of the Police Regional Office 3, quoted probers as saying one of front tires of the bus burst causing the accident.

Sigua identified as among the 21 injured, Kim Cedric Romero, 9, of Mejares, Dipaculao town, this province; siblings Joyce, 10, and Lloyd Valdez, 7; and April Krizzia Licad, 13.

The victims were taken either to the Aurora Memorial Hospital in Barangay Reserva or the Premiere General Hospital for treatment.