(Contributed photo/Benjie Campo)
The number of fatalities in the Toyota Grandia van that crashed into a tree in Barangay Legaspi, Alegria town in southwestern Cebu has risen from five to seven, police said.
The Alegria Police Station confirmed that the gray van, with plate number AED 1299, was transporting 11 tourists, most of whom were Filipino immigrants in the U.S., when the accident happened past noon yesterday as the vehicle was heading to the Kawasan Falls in Badian from Oslob, both town in southern Cebu.
Senior Inspector Efren Diaz, officer-in-charge of the Alegria Police Station, told Cebu Daily News by phone this afternoon that their initial investigations showed that the driver, identified as Gilbert dela Cruz, 24, fell asleep while traversing the highway in Barangay Legaspi, Alegria.
“We are still obtaining further information about the accident. We’re still determining the speed of the car moments before the crash occured,” Diaz said.
Dela Cruz, who was among the four injured in the crash, is now under the custody of the Alegria police.
Dela Cruz only had minor injuries, Diaz said.
He said the three survivors who suffered from still undetermined injuries have been brought to Cebu City, 115.8 kilometers from Alegria, and are now undergoing treatment at the Chong Hua Hospital.
The police withheld the release of the names of the fatalities pending the notification of their next of kin.