CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 05 November) – Two high school students were killed while three of their companions were badly injured when their gray Toyota Conquest Hilux pickup collided head-on with a 10-wheeler truck in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental on Monday, November 4.
Police Corporal Arnold Galagnara, traffic investigator of the El Salvador City police station, said the three injured, who are high school students from La Salle Academy in Iligan City, were rushed for treatment to the OWWA hospital in nearby Alubijid town.
Galagnara said the 15-year-old driver of the Toyota pickup died instantly because of the impact along with another companion, also a student.
“The collision was so strong that the 10-wheeler truck was thrown off the road,” Galagnara told MindaNews by phone.
He did not give the names of the victims.
Truck driver Ernie Apor, 42, said he was surprised when the Toyota pickup suddenly came out from incoming vehicular traffic and collided head-on with his truck.
He told radio reporters that he was traveling in Zone 2, Barangay Taytay, El Salvador City when the collision happened.
“I held on to the steering wheel knowing that if I swerved to avoid the pickup, my truck will overturn,” Apor said.
Citing their investigation, Galagnara said they found no skid marks from the pickup, indicating that it did not apply brakes, while the truck had a row of skid marks.
He said the Toyota pickup was bound for Cagayan de Oro City. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)