BACOLOD CITY – Three teenagers died, while two others were injured, after a driver allegedly dozed off while on the wheel of his multicab, and hit a noodle shop in Barangay Caliban, Murcia, Negros Occidental on Sunday night.
Police identified the fatalities as Mark Lorence Guansing, 17; Shelmer Javier, 18; and Justin Maderada, 16.
Wounded were an unidentified 17-year-old boy, and Carlo James Lopes, 23.
Maj. Robert Dejucos, town police chief, said that a multicab driven by fish vendor Emilio Salvador, 38, of Manapla town was running on a fast clip when it reportedly rammed into two cars before mowing down the victims who were at a nearby noodle restaurant.
Dejucos said Guansing was declared dead on-arrival at the hospital, while Javier and Maderada succumbed to injuries early Monday.
The two wounded victims were still confined at the hospital.
Dejucos said that Salvador was allegedly speeding when he probably dozed off, and lost his control over the vehicle which caused the accident.
The suspect was unharmed, although there were reports that he was mobbed by some bystanders in the area, the town police chief added.
Dejucos said that Salvador, who was a native of Leganes, Iloilo, will be charged for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, physical injuries, and damage to properties. He is detained at Murcia Municipal Police Station.