3 young girls killed by wayward truck in Bukidnon

Three young girls walking to school were killed in San Fernando, Bukidnon after they were hit by a truck whose driver claimed he fell asleep.

In Cyril Chaves’s Wednesday report in “24 Oras,” police said the young students were walking to school when the 10-wheeler truck hit them along a road in Barangay Cayaga.

Police Major Joann Navarro, Police Regional Office 10 (PRO-10) spokesperson, said two of the victims were sisters aged nine and seven years old, while the other girl was also nine years old.

The 41-year-old truck driver eventually surrendered to the police. He admitted that he fell asleep while driving.

He also said he fled the incident out of fear of being attacked by angry residents.

“Pagmaneho ko nakaidlip po ako. Pagpatakbo ko, parang sumasayaw ang truck at biglang bumulagta na lang ang mga bata,” the truck driver said.

(I fell asleep while driving, and then I suddenly noticed that the truck swerved and the students suddenly appeared in front of me.)

Navarro said the police had not seen anything wrong with the truck since the driver was able to drive several  kilometers after the accident.

The driver is facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide.
—Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News