SUV falls Bontoc cliff one dead, three hurt

BONTOC, Mountain Province – A woman died while three others were injured after the private vehicle they were riding fell off the ravine around 20 meters deep here at Lengwa, Barangay Mainit on April 13.
    Estefania Padcayan, 58, Mainit residents was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician at Bontoc General Hospital.
    The three injured were Rosa Ridao, 71 and Kenneth Sokoken, 47, driver of the vehicle and both are residents of Barangay Maligcong, Bontoc and Annie Pag-ang, 36, also of Mainit.
    Ridao and Sokoken were allowed by the attending physician to be out of the hospital with medications while Pag-ang refused to be referred to the hospital.
    The Bontoc Municipal Police Station said at around 5 p.m. of April 13, the victims riding an SUV were on their way home to Mainit after attending a wedding celebration in Maligcong.
    The incident happened when Sokoken, the driver, tried to overtake a Toyota Innova that was signaling to the right.
    Sokoken stepped on the accelerator as they were ascending but lost control of the steering wheel which led the vehicle straight to the parapet and down the ravine.
    Bontoc Mayor and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chairperson Franklin Odsey thanked everyone who assisted the victims in the incident.
    He highlighted the innate spirit of “Og-ogfo”(bayanihan) which is very much alive in the Bontoc community.