Bus accident injures 37 persons in Carmen

At least 37 persons were wounded when a Ceres bus owned by Vallacar Transit fell on its side while traveling on a slippery road in Dawis Norte, Carmen town, 41.3 kilometers north of Cebu at past noon yesterday.

Bus driver Ronald Lato, 35, and a resident of Daanbantayan town in Cebu, was detained at the police station in Carmen town after he surrendered to the police.

Lato told police investigators that he lost control of the bus (679 CCE)  when one of its tires exploded while he was overtaking a tricycle.

He denied that he was overspeeding, a claim verified by police based on interviews with the passengers.

The road was also slippery because it  had rained earlier, said PO2 Everett Capuyan, Carmen police investigator.

The bus then sideswiped the metal gate of an establishment before it fell on its left side, Lato told Capuyan.

Capuyan told Cebu Daily News that the bus came from Mandaue City’s North Bus Terminal and was heading to Daanbantayan town at the northern tip of Cebu when the accident occurred. Capuyan said the injured passengers were brought to a provincial hospital in Danao City.

He said there were 37 passengers on board the bus and 31 were rushed to the provincial hospital in Danao City.

Those who sustained severe injuries were brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

A company representative went to the provincial hospital in Danao City and pledged to pay the medical expenses of the passengers.

Capuyan said the victims had been declared out of danger although a boy suffered a broken leg.