Hospital staff having hard time identifying SCTEX mishap victims

Hospital personnel are having a difficult time identifying the victims, including the fatalities, of the multiple-vehicle collision at the Tarlac City Toll Plaza on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway on Thursday.

The 10 dead, including four children, and the over 30 others who were injured were brought to the Tarlac Provincial Hospital, according to Raffy Tima’s report in “24 Oras.” 

The hospital currently has the cellphones of the victims as they wait for their relatives to call and inform them of what happened. 

Meanwhile, the bags and other personal belongings of the victims can be found outside the hospital. 

Among the survivors being treated at the emergency room is a toddler boy, who is believed to be between two to three years old. The boy was crying while looking for his parents, who unfortunately both died in the accident. 

Rescuers found him in a child car seat at the back seat of their car. He is being taken care of by the Philippine Red Cross, the report said. 

Although he’s alive, the driver of the L300 van which most of the fatalities came from cannot communicate properly. 

According to the hospital’s management, the IDs they retrieved from most of the fatalities show that they are from Antipolo City. 

From the place of the incident, the traffic along SCTEX’s northbound lane reached two kilometers after the lane was closed. But a counterflow scheme was implemented at the southbound lane. 

Until 4 p.m., the traffic was still present because fire trucks had to blast water onto the place of the incident. 

On the roadside, the accident was very evident with broken tail lights found, and a small life vest was found, which came from the van. –Vince Angelo Ferreras/NB, GMA Integrated News