KAWIT, Cavite—Five persons died on the spot and 11 more were injured Wednesday morning as the speeding jeepney they were riding crashed into a concrete electrical pole along the Centennial Highway in Barangay Tabon 3 here.
Police Chief Inspector Dhefry Punzalan, acting Chief of Police of Kawit, said the jeepney, with plate number DVK-713 and driven by Emmanuel Asis Genzole, a resident of Barangay Bunga in nearby Tanza, crashed into a Meralco pole around 6 a.m.
Genzole, 52, had been driving recklessly but lost control of the vehicle as it slammed into the concrete post, according to officer on case PO2 Nelvin S. Trajico. The driver was among the injured treated by the Kawit Rescue Unit and brought to the Divine Grace Hospital in Tejero, General Trias City.
Four of the fatalities were women: Lorena Abiera Isaias, 43; Lorena Purificacion, 44; Malanie Andaya Macalalad, 32; and Florijane Archivida, of legal age.
Christian Pallera, 36, also succumbed to the “self-accident” as described by the police. He and the women were declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Pictures posted by online news agencies showed the jeep’s hood engulfing the concrete post, underscoring the speed of the impact.
Aside from Genzole, police identified the injured as Joanna Campos, 31; Arjay P Valencia, 24; Jullan Villamor, 24; Jovie Love Cañada, 27; Rosalie Raquea Pallera, 40; Armando Molina, 69; Richard Refonte, 26; Elizabeth Gutierrez, 33; Fatima Illardo, 23; and Hazel Dimaala, 29.
Most of the victims are residents of Imus and Binakayan in Kawit, and were going to work at the nearby export processing zone when the accident happened.