By Jonas Reyes
IBA, Zambales — Two drivers and a passenger were killed when a utility vehicle (UV) Express van and a private jeep collided head-on in Barangay San Agustin, here, the other night. Eight other people were injured.
Senior Superintendent Felix Verbo, Zambales Police Provincial Office (PPO) director, said the ill-fated vehicles were a UV Express van, driven by 43-year-old Emmanuel R. Villar, and a yellow-colored locally-manufactured Hammer jeep driven by 26-year-old Joseph Elmark Demapayo.
Quoting traffic investigators, Verbo said Demapayo’s jeep swerved to the opposite lane of the National Highway in Barangay San Agustin and rammed into the oncoming UV Express van at 11:45 p.m.
The impact of the crash wrecked both vehicles and threw Demapayo and his passenger, 32-year-old Aldrin de Guia, off their jeepney, killing them instantly. Villar was also crushed to death in the driver’s seat of the van.
The injured UV Express passengersMark Joseph Mayo, 21; Elane Castro, 22; Mark Ryan Achacoso, 23; Christelle Quito, 24; Janine Gonzales, 25; Joymee Maranoc, 29; Annabel Morados, 31; and Jeffrey Edejer — were taken to the President Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Hospital for treatment.