BAGUIO CITY (Updated, 11:25 a.m.) - Families of the victims will no longer file a case against the driver of the jeepney that plunged into a deep ravine in the province of Benguet on Saturday, killing at least 13 passengers.
The jeepney, filled with 19 passengers from a politician’s victory party, veered off a mountain road in Buguias town around 2:30 p.m. Saturday and plummeted into a 90-meter (295-foot) deep ravine, initially killing 10 people.
Listen to report of JM Agreda of Sun.Star Baguio
Two more victims died later Saturday and another victim died in a hospital on Sunday, Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan said.
Five other people survived with injuries, Fongwan said by telephone, adding one of the 19 people in the jeepney identified as Jerry Bisaya Atas managed to jump out before the vehicle went over the cliff.
Police Superintendent Constancio Chinayog said the Ford Fiera jeep was on its way to Abatan, Buguias, Benguet when the accident happened.
The victims were mostly members of a family who attended an election victory party for reelected Buguias town mayor Melchor Diclas in Barangay Natubleng.
Another passenger Melin Dasdas died while being transported to Benguet General Hospital (BeGH). Passenger Marrieta Gaspil died while undergoing treatment at the same hospital.
Among those injured were Basilio Baldos, Oronio Agyapas, Nicole Waclin, Wela Waclin, Braille Waclin and the driver Ambrocio Menzi Jr., all residents of Buguias town. Victims sustained fractured bones and are recuperating at the BeGH.
Initial investigation showed that the driver, Menzi, who was among the survivors, lost control of the vehicle due to sudden downpour and foggy environment occurred in the accident site. Investigators, though, were trying to determine if Menzi was at fault or if the jeepney he was driving had mechanical defects, Fongwan said.
Fog apparently hampered road visibility at the time of the accident, police officer Jefferson Lopez said. (JM Agreda of Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)