Death toll in La Union road mishap reaches 12

Police officials on Thursday confirmed that the death toll in the mishap in Bauang, La Union rose to 12 with the death of three other victims Wednesday night. Senior Superintendent Franklin Bucayo, La Union provincial police chief, identified the fatalities as Arnel Marino, 18; Manilyn Sapitula, 18; and Hazel Antonio, 18. He said based on the report given to him by Supt Pedro Ubaldo Jr, Bauang police director, Marino died about 11 p.m. at the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center, while Sapitula died at about 8 p.m. at a hospital in Baguio City. Antonio, on the other hand, died while being rushed to a hospital. All of the fatalities were teenagers, some of them suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol. About 15 others were injured in the accident. Police reports showed that the incident occurred at 4 a.m. at Bauang town in La Union as the victims, on board a passenger jeep, were on their way home to La Trinidad in Benguet from a swimming party. Their vehicle reportedly hit a trailer truck. Ubaldo earlier cited initial witnesses' testimonies indicating the jeep was speeding and "crisscrossing" before hitting the trailer truck. Many of the youths, Ubaldo said, "smelled of alcohol" and that many liquor bottles were found in the jeep, which was wrecked in the crash. "The youths came from La Trinidad at 6 p.m. of Tuesday for night swimming at a resort. They decided to return to La Trinidad before dawn," he said in Filipino. Ubaldo said the jeep apparently lost control 100 meters before impact. He said witnesses described the jeep as "super-bilis (super-fast)" when it hit the trailer. He said the jeep was a total wreck, with two of its wheels flying off and its roof sheared off. When asked about the road conditions, he said the road where the accident occurred was "patag" (level). "It was an accident. The jeep lost control. The youths came from night swimming and some of them reeked of liquor. We found some bottles of liquor in the jeep," he said.-GMANews.TV