Road accident: 3 hurt in 5-vehicle smashup in Cebu City

An accident involving two SUVs, two jeepneys, and a motorcycle took place along Osmeña Boulevard at past 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 8, 2024. | Emmariel Ares

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A total of three individuals sustained injuries as a result of a multi-vehicle road accident along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City on Thursday noon, February 8, 2024.

The vehicular accident happened at past 12:00 p.m. and involved 2 sports-utility vehicles (SUVs), 2 passenger jeepneys, and a motorcycle.

The driver of the motorcycle and his female backrider were rushed to the nearest hospital by emergency responders after the incident.

Another individual, a passenger in one of the SUVs, sustained minor injuries due to the impact of the collision.

READ: Motorcycle driver dead in road crash

According to Police Master Sergeant Arnilo Limalima, an investigator of the Traffic Enforcement Unit of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), an SUV traveling towards the downtown area first hit a public utility jeepney (PUJ).

The PUJ had a route number 06B meaning its route covers Barangay Guadalupe and downtown area. It was driven by Renante Sumayang.

The SUV then collided with a motorcycle driven by a man identified as Marcelino Pepito, with a woman as his backrider before it smashed into another PUJ with a 06C route driven by 34-year-old Jonel Sabredo.

Finally, the SUV collided with another SUV driven by Alex Precillas, 31, before finally stopping.

In an interview with one of the PUJ drivers, Sabredo, he stated that he saw the SUV overtaking another vehicle and swerving to the opposite lane, which sparked the road accident.

According to Sabredo, the SUV was speeding and hit the left side of Sumayang’s PUJ.

Sumayang said that one of his tires exploded due to the impact.

Sabredo added that the motorcycle was hurled towards his direction and the female backrider was thrown off and landed in the middle of the road. The motorcycle was then pinned under Sabredo’s PUJ.

He further stated that when he saw the SUV coming straight his way, he avoided it in a rush to ensure the safety of his 16 passengers.

“Nilikay ko kay daghan man kog pasahero. Masentro ko, og masentro ko mas daghan man god mi ma kuan. Kay og maigo mi, kami gyuy mauna ato kay kusog man iya dagan,” said Sabredo.

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Around 32 passengers inside the 2 involved PUJS were reported to be unharmed during the road accident.

Meanwhile, Precillas told reporters that it was difficult for him to avoid the SUV heading straight his way. It collided with the right side of his vehicle and stopped.

As of this writing, police are still looking more into what happened to determine the cause of the road accident, according to Limalima.

The driver of the SUV that started the accident, however, told reporters that he panicked at the time which caused him to increase the speed of his vehicle instead of stopping.

Limalima added that the driver was brought to the police station on Thursday for further questioning. | with reports from Mark Bandolon, CTU Intern

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