ATIMONAN, Quezon- A 60-year-old truck driver and his helper died while another driver was injured after they figured in a collision involving four trucks on Monday evening, Dec. 12, along Maharlika Highway diversion road, Barangay Malinao IIaya in this town.
Quezon Police Provincial Office (QPPO) public information officer Lt. Lovelynn Lalunio identified the victims as Romeo de la Cruz Nazar, a resident of Bagong Sta. Rosa Village in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, and his helper Bernardo Baynado, 43, a resident of Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte.
Nazar, driver of a wing van truck with plate number MGQ 388, and his helper were declared dead on arrival at Doña Martha Memorial District Hospital due to injuries on the head and lower extremities.
Based on a police report, the wing van truck driven by Nazar was traveling toward the direction of Atimonan town.
Upon reaching a downhill portion of the highway, the wing van truck suddenly changed lanes and sideswiped a Lucena City-bound truck driven by Alberto de la Roca Dapog in the opposite direction.
As the wing van was on the downhill portion, it continued to move after the impact and bumped off two more arriving trucks in the opposite lane. These were ‘highside’ truck with plate number ABB 5251 and driven by Esmeraldo Timbal Jr. of Exciban Labo, Camarines Sur; and a palletized truck driven by Alexander Sablaya De Leon III of Buenavista Magdalena, Laguna.
De Leon III was injured in the accident that happened at around 8 p.m.
Responding members of the Bureau of Fire Protection, and Atimonan Municipal Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO) extracted the victims and brought them to the hospital.
One of the trucks was loaded with boxes of cigarettes that scattered on the road.
Investigators believed that the brakes of Nazar’s truck malfunctioned.