North Cotabato: 4 dead as cargo truck plows into crowd

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Cotabato — At least four persons were killed and six others were critically injured when a cargo truck loaded with Pepsi products suffered a brake system failure and plowed motorists in nearby Makilala, North Cotabato, around 5 a.m. yesterday, the police said.

The crash occurred on the descending highway in Barangay Malasila, according to Chief Insp. Elias Colonia, the Makilala town police chief.
Colonia said the cargo truck, with license plate PTM-750 and loaded with Pepsi products, was from Davao City and was heading for Cotabato City when its brake system malfunctioned.

He said witnesses told investigators the truck was moving wayward from Barangay Kisante as it headed to Barangay Malasila with the driver repeatedly blowing his horn, obviously to alert motorists.

Colonia said the truck first hit three motorcycles before hitting a woman waiting for a ride by the roadside.

The truck only came to a halt when it reached a portion of the road being renovated.

The names of those who were killed were not immediately available but Colonia said among those injured were truck driver Julius Cadaba, a resident of Midsayap town, also in North Cotabato.

Early this week, North Cotabato Provincial Board Member Socrates Piñol has passed a resolution urging the public works office to correct portions of the highway in Makilala – including the scene of the road mishap – saying it has been known as the “killer highway.”

“I am not an engineer but am sure it’s the angle of the curve in that stretch of the highway that has caused so many accidents,” Piñol said.