Sunday, June 15, 2008 1 killed, 28 hurt as PUJ wheel bursts
ONE man died and 28 others were injured yesterday when a loaded jeepney rolled several times after its front wheel exploded.
The jeepney was on its way to Cebu City, ferrying passengers who had just finished their shifts at an establishment in Danao City.
When it reached Sitio Guiwanon, Barangay Poblacion, Compostela at 5:20 a.m., the front left wheel of the jeepney exploded.
Driver Nilo Mancio Matugas, 43, lost control of the jeepney as it zigzagged, before flipping and rolling several times.
SPO1 Silas Ceballos of the Compostela Police traffic section said it hit a motorcycle driven by Joseph Batican and a mountain bike pedaled by Edgardo Bornales, which was heading in the opposite direction as the jeepney.
The impact threw Batican and his passenger Carina Quiros, 20, off the motorcycle.
While Quiros landed on the pavement, Batican got pinned to the jeepney and was dragged along with it.
Batican died on the spot while Quiros and Matugas are reportedly in serious condition.
The jeepney stopped 182 feet away from where the front wheel exploded.
Batican’s clothes were reportedly in shreds and his left leg was almost severed. He landed some 89 feet away.
Matugas, for his part, was also pinned inside the jeepney.
Quiros, Matugas and jeepney conductor Brian Martel are reportedly in critical condition.
Quiros is confined at the Chong Hua Hospital while Martel and Matugas are at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
The cyclist Bornales, Ceballos said, escaped with minor injuries. His bike was alongside Batican’s motorcycle during the impact. Bornales was on his way to work while Batican and Quiros were on their way home.
The rest were taken to the Danao City District Hospital before they were transferred to different hospitals in Cebu City.
Ceballos said they could not say yet if the other passengers were in critical condition.
The passengers hailed from Compostela, Lapu-Lapu City, Danao City, Mandaue City, Alegria, Consolacion and Liloan town. (MEA)
