KAWIT, Cavite – Five passengers were killed and 11 others injured, nine of them in critical condition, after the jeepney they were riding in rammed onto an electric post early Wednesday morning along Centennial Road Highway in Barangay Tabon 3, Kawit, Cavite.
Initial police investigation disclosed that the jeepney was en route to General Trias, loaded with around 16 passengers, when the vehicle slammed onto a Meralco electric post along the roadside around 6 a.m.
Police said most of those who perished in the accident were workers at the Cavite Export Processing Zone Authority who had to rise early for work.
The five fatalities were identified as Lorena Abiera Isaias, 43, from Binakayan, Kawit; Lorena Purificacion, 44, from Medicion 2-F, Imus City; Melanie Andaya Macalalad, 32, from Medicion 1-B, Imus City; Florijane Archivida from Imus City; and Christian Pallera, 36, also from Mendicion 1-D, Imus City.
Kawit police case investigator PO2 Nelvin Trajico said jeepney driver Emmanuel Genzole lost control of the jeepney after its brake malfunctioned, leading the vehicle to ram the electric post.
The injured victims, including Genzole, were taken to the Divine Grace Medical Hospital in General Trias and Kalayaan Hospital in Kawit for treatment. Gladys Señires-Pino and Rogelio Limpin/PNA