TWELVE persons were injured, including three foreigners, when a utility van they were on figured in a road accident at the Transcentral Highway in Balamban, Cebu on Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 2019.
Staff Sergeant Roland Apas, investigator-on-case, identified the injured passengers as Indian national Dinesh Shetty, French nationals Rajsi Huwaldir and Bennish Jinerdeb, Christian Ticod, Brian Caramba, Moses Cruz, Fel Hoy, Jordan Fernandez, Marcelo Caneja, Aljude Abag and Shiene Rubio.
They are all employees of a web hosting service located at the Cebu I.T. Park in Cebu City, who were reportedly on their way to a mountain resort in Balamban for a team-building activity.
They were rushed to the district hospital in Balamban before they were transferred to a hospital in Cebu City.
Some of them were in critical condition as of 2 p.m. on Sunday, said Corporal Teofilo Verano, Balamban Police Station’s desk officer.
The van’s driver, a certain Reanto Arcenal, 50, also suffered injuries. The van’s front part was damaged.
According to Apas, initial investigation revealed that a brake malfunction caused the incident.
“Upon reaching the downhill portion of the highway, their brake malfunctioned, which caused the driver to lose control and crash onto a cemented drainage at the roadside. Maybe he just opted to hit the drainage since there’s a cliff ahead,” he said.
Verano recalled that years ago, a tourist bus carrying Iranian nationals fell off the cliff in the same area.
He said that a portion of the highway is accident-prone since the road is downhill.
Although road signs are already in place to warn drivers, he said it would be better if the local government could put safety cones at the center line of the road. (WBS)