COTABATO CITY — Ten individuals were badly injured in a road accident involving a tricycle and a light truck carrying a ton of assorted fishes in Barangay Palian in Tupi, South Cotabato on Sunday.
The accident left the driver of the light truck, Almasri L. Guiapal and his helpers, Haron S. Japal, Johari D. Moncao, Fahad B. Mohammad, Mujahirin P. Bagundang and Saud K. Macalutang, all residents of Maguindanao del Norte province, injured.
The driver of the tricycle, Raul T. Dolendo and his passengers, Leah W. Osorio and her sister, Gemma, and a nine-year-old boy, also sustained wounds and contusions in different parts of their bodies.
In a report released on Monday, the Tupi Municipal Police Station stated that the driver of the light truck, en route to Koronadal City from General Santos City, lost control of the wheel while maneuvering through a stretch of the highway in Purok 1A in Barangay Palian in Tupi when one of its front tires exploded, hitting the tricycle it was trailing behind.
Both vehicles veered to the side of the highway and plunged into a concrete flood control ditch along the route.
The owner of the light truck, who peddles fishes from General Santos City to retailers in the neighboring Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur provinces, had reportedly assured to help pay for the hospital bills of the injured passengers of the tricycle and its driver. — John Felix M. Unson
