By Calvin Cordova
CEBU CITY — Four persons were killed when a van-for-hire collided with a passenger bus in a “Friday the 13th” road accident in Compostela town, northern Cebu.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / TONYPHER TUGDANG VIA CALVIN CORDOVA)
Three other passengers of the van and the drivers of the two vehicles were also injured in the accident that took place past 3 a.m. along the national highway in Compostela.
The van was reportedly running at high speed when it tried to overtake another vehicle, but ended up colliding with a Ceres bus, said Police Col. Roderick Mariano, chief of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).
Mariano said the van was severely damaged and that its roof was ripped off.
The driver of the van, Patrick Yolo, 20, was critically wounded. The van came from Daanbantayan.
The bus, driven by Jerry Lubon, 32, came from the North Bus Terminal in Mandaue City.
Lubon said that he was driving at a speed of between 40 to 50 kilometers per hour when the van encroached on the lane his bus was occupying, thus, resulting in the collision.
Investigators have yet to release the names of the fatalities although it was known that the three male passengers of the van died on-the-spot, while a female passenger passed away in the hospital.
Aside from the two drivers, also injured were Mark Lester Briones, 35, and William Lanzadares, 37.