THREE people died, while six others were injured in two separate vehicular accidents in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, the police reported Monday, January 11.
The Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula reported that the first accident, which involved a truck and a motorcycle, happened at 7:05 a.m. Sunday, January 10, along the national highway of New Tambo village, Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte.
The police identified the fatalities Geralvin Aljas Saldasal, 16, and Gina Aljas Saldasal, 40, of Mias village, Katipunan.
The police said the Saldasals sustained injuries, as they bumped the rear portion of the truck while traveling aboard a motorcycle.
They were rushed to the hospital but the attending physician declared them dead on arrival.
The truck driver, Arnel Jarantilla, 39, told the police that he stopped along the highway to fix the vehicle's clutch lining that malfunctioned.
The police said the second accident, which involved two trucks, took place around 11:30 a.m. Sunday in Purok 4 in Bobongan village, Ramon Magsaysay, Zamboanga del Sur.
The police identified the fatality as Edgar Arias, 51, who sustained multiple injuries due to the impact of the collision.
The police said his companions in the truck -- Arnold Arias, 38, the driver; Junjie Alolor, 17; Jasmine Lubaton Arias, six; Jemboy Catulong Gabayan, 28; Julia Marie Lubaton Arias, 16; Bernadeth Labadero Arias, 50 -- were also wounded.
Roldan Amper Baltazar, 43, the drive of the other truck, and his truck man, Diocol Zarati Ardines, 27, were unscathed.
The two trucks collided in a blind curve in Purok 4 in Bobongan village while traveling on opposite directions. (SunStar Zamboanga)