A RETIRED policeman died while his companion survived although wounded in a highway accident in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, the police reported Saturday.

The Zamboanga del Sur police provincial office reported that the accident happened around 1 p.m. Friday at Purok San Isidro in the village of Poblacion, San Pablo town.

The police identified the fatality as Oliver Bongabong, 69, a retired policeman and a resident of Purok Mauswagon, Poblacion, San Pablo. Wounded was Bugoy Dag-Uman, 40, of Villakapa villages of the same town.

Investigation disclosed Bongabong was driving a truck that suddenly crashed into a mango tree along the side of the road after it developed mechanical malfunction.

The police said Bongabong died instantaneously due to the impact of the crash while his companions sustain injuries and was hospitalized.