KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 3 Jan) – Twenty-eight passengers were injured when a bus fell off a 20-foot ravine along Kilometer 110 in Barangay Paco here 4 a.m. Friday, police reports said.
Crash site: Barangay Paco, Kidapawan City. Map courtesy of Google
Lt. Col. Ramel Hojilla, city police chief, hinted that the driver, identified as Jaypee Lu Jose, 36, of Bansalan, Davao del Sur, could have fallen asleep while driving.
“Although the crash site was not well lit, the vehicle’s front lights were working,” he pointed out.
Hojilla said the driver could not use as alibi the wet road after the heavy rain because he was driving at only 60 kilometers per hour.
Jose, who sustained a minor injury, was already placed under the custody of the local police for further investigation.
The Mindanao Star airconditioned bus with body number 156-76 and license plate number PAM 5913 was headed towards Cotabato City. It left the Ecoland Terminal in Davao City around 2 a.m.
Hojilla said the injured passengers were brought to the Cotabato Provincial Hospital for treatment.
One of the injured, however, has to be transferred to Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City due to serious injuries, reports added.
Hojilla has yet to know whether the bus company will shoulder the hospital bills of those injured in the crash.
Reports said the Mindanao Star’s rescue towing truck arrived around 9 a.m. to pull the bus from the ravine. (Malu Cadelina Manar / MindaNews)
