Sunday, September 07, 2008 2 teens hurt in car mishap By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
TWO high school students sustained brain and spinal injuries, after the vehicle they were riding in rammed into an oncoming taxicab along Marcos Highway, the police reported Saturday.
The accident resulted after they invaded the opposite lane to overtake another vehicle.
The victims were identified as Joseph Dayagdag and Jann Hazel Rimando, both students of the Pines City National High School (PCNHS).
A police report said that Dayagdag was driving Thursday night an owner-type jeep bearing license plate CNB-690 from the direction of the central business district when it overtook another vehicle near Summer Place Hotel.
Not checking if there was an oncoming vehicle first, Dayagdag drove the jeep to the opposite lane of the highway, realizing too late that a Toyota Tamaraw FX taxi was coming towards them.
After ramming into the taxi with license plate AYE-581 being driven by Eugene Segundo, the owner-type jeep continued moving forward, swerved to the right as a result of the strong impact, rammed again into a road parapet, bumped another riprap wall, and then landed at the side of a drainage canal.
As a result, according to Rafael Valencia, head of the 911 On Call rescue team, Rimando sustained "traumatic brain injury secondary to invasive alcohol intoxication," while Dayagdag was diagnosed with "traumatic brain and rollout spinal cord injury" due to the mishap.
Although the taxi driver escaped with only minor injuries, both vehicles incurred heavy damage.
The two teenagers are undergoing treatment at the St. Louis University Hospital of the Sacred Heart.
