3 teens die, 2 others hurt in Cavite road accident

MANILA, Philippines - Three teenage students were killed while two others were hurt after being hit by a cargo truck in Silang town in Cavite Thursday morning. In a radio dzBB interview Senior Superintendent Hernando Zafra said those killed - aged between 17 and 18 years old - were students of the the Rogationist College of Silang. Zafra said the road accident happened just near the school, along Aquinaldo Highway, involving an Elf truck that came from Tagaytay City. The truck driver – who surrendered after the incident – claimed his vehicle’s brakes failed. “Ang driver ay arestado, hindi siya tumakbo at dinakip na namin. Base sa salyasay ng driver nawalan siya ng brake [The driver was arrested. He did not flee. According to him, the brake of the truck he was driving failed]," Zafra said. The police official assured that he would later be coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways for the installation of sign boards against over speeding especially near schools. The road accident involving student fatalities came barely a month after an Ateneo Grade School student – Julian Carlo Miguel "Amiel" Alcantara, 10 - died from being pinned between two vehicles inside school premises in Quezon City. A few weeks later, another Ateneo student sustained minor injuries after being hit by a vehicle also inside school grounds. Amiel’s family had already filed charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide against driver Ma. Theresa Torres, who is already out of detention on bail. A 2006 survey by the Safe Kids Philippines showed that more than half or 56 percent of all children being rushed to the emergency room are victims of vehicular accidents. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV