BACOLOD CITY - Three persons died while five others were injured after they figured in separate road accidents in the cities of Sagay and Victorias in Negros Occidental on Monday.
In Victorias City, Earl Sorilla, 21, of Barangay 6; and Richard Christian Casin, 39, of Barangay 7 died after their motorcycle collided with a Ceres Liner bus that was about to park at the terminal in Barangay 13.
Lt. Col. Eduardo Corpuz, city police chief, said the victims were on their way home when the accident happened.
"Matulin daw ang takbo nila, posibleng nakainom din,” Corpuz said, adding that both victims were not wearing helmets.
The two victims sustained head injuries and were declared dead on arrival at a hospital. No injuries were reported on the passengers of the bus.
Corpuz said the bus driver, who was unharmed, was held at the police station but was released after the 18-hour reglementary detention.
In Sagay City, a mother of a dentist died, while five others were injured after a sports utility vehicle (SUV) also collided with a Ceres Liner bus at Barangay Poblacion 2.
Chief Master Sgt. Leandro Juarez, chief traffic investigator of Sagay City Police Station, identified the fatality as Asunsita Brion, 77, of Escalante City.
Police identified two of the three wounded victims as Dr. Charlotte Macasling, 42, of Escalante City, and their companion, Jessa Mae Nicos, 19.
Juarez said Macasling was driving the SUV on their way home when she allegedly dozed off, causing her vehicle to swerve to the opposite lane that resulted in a collision.
Brion was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital, while Macasling, Nicos, and the three passengers of the bus sustained minor injuries.
Juarez said the bus driver was released from police custody after the lapse of his 18-hour reglementary detention.
Meanwhile, Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI) media officer Jade Seballos said, they already extended medical assistance to the three passengers of the bus, and are willing to extend assistance to the victims of the families in the Victorias accident.
Seballod said their bus drivers were not at fault in both accidents, and were told to rest for a while, considering the trauma that they experienced.
Seballos said that Macasling apologized to their driver after the accident.