BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Four members of a family, including a four-year old boy, were killed when a truck loaded with sugarcane toppled and crushed their car in Bago City, Negros Occidental Thursday afternoon.
Romulo Espinosa, 59, his wife Josephine, 53, their daughter Christine Sarcia, 31, and Christine’s son Vincent John, 4, were on their way home to La Carlota City from Bacolod City when an oncoming 10-wheeler truck trailer driven by Herman Mahometano, 58, fell onto its side and crushed their Hyundai Eon hatchback in Barangay Atipuluan, Bago City.
It took 30 minutes to retrieve the victims because they needed a crane to lift the truck upright, police said.
Mahometano, who initially fled but surrendered later, said he was negotiating a curve when he felt the trailer begin to sway and then lost control of the truck.
Witnesses told local radio Romulo apparently noticed something wrong with the truck and stopped his car. Unfortunately, he did so at the exact spot where the truck fell over.
Police said they found no mechanical defects that could have caused the truck to fall over, indicating it may have been overloaded.
In the wake of the fatal accident, many residents of Negros Occidental have called for the strict regulation of how much cane can be loaded onto trucks for milling. The province is in the middle of the sugarcane milling season.
