Three were killed in a vehicular accident along the national highway in Barangay Buanoy in Balamban town Sunday dawn, September 20, 2020. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A truck driver is now detained at the Balamban Police Station after he got involved in a vehicular accident along the national highway in Barangay Buanoy on Sunday dawn, September 20, 2020, that led to the death of three motorcycle riders.
Renerio Remo, 46, a resident of Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City, could not be released yet as the police are still waiting for the family of the three fatalities to visit the station to discuss how to move about with the case.
Police Major Christian Torres, chief of Balamban Police Station, identified the motorcycle riders who were killed as William Dominic Pierson, 23; Dane Caballero Sultan, 23; and Steve Wagas Son, 23.
Both Sultan and Son are from Barangay Aliwanay while Pierson is from Barangay Paliwagan.
Based on Police investigation, Remo, who was on his way back to Mandaue City after delivering feeds to a poultry farm, was maneuvering his ten-wheeler wing van truck to turn right to the national highway heading north.
Since the wing van was long, Remo had to occupy a bit of the opposite lane to be able to successfully make the turn . Torres said that while Remo was trying to complete the turn, he felt a jolt from the left side of his truck. Upon checking, he found the motorcycle boarded by the three men underneath the wing van. It crashed on the left side of the van as it was about to complete the right turn.
Torres said the driver of the Yamaha scooter was Pierson while the backriders were Sultan and Son.
According to Torres, witnesses in the area said the motorcycle which was cruising through the national highway rammed into the truck as if the driver didn’t see the truck still about to complete its turn into the road.
Torres said they could not yet determine why the motorycle driver did not apply the brakes upon seeing the truck.
The impact of the crash sent the riders flying off their motorcycle, landing hard on the pavement without any safety gear such as helmets.
Pierson was proclaimed dead on the spot while Sultan was pronounced dead on arrival in a hospital in Balamaban. Son, on the other hand, said to have died in a Cebu City hospital on Sunday afternoon.
Torres said they are still determining whether the three motorcycle riders were drunk during the time of the accident since they were said to be speeding at around 60 to 80 kilometers per hour when they crashed into the truck.
“we’re trying to confirm that. Initially, it was said that they were drunk because they were cruising at a high speed. And it was around 1 am so they may have been worried about the curfew, which may have been the reason that they were speeding,” Torres said.
Meanwhile, Torres reminded the public to always practice defensive driving and always wear safety gear such as helmets when on a motorcycle. Aside from that, he also urged drivers to avoid speeding on the highway.
/bmjo