Father grieves after losing wife, child to SCTEX car crash

Elmer Añonuevo still cannot believe what happened to his wife and child, who were among the 10 fatalities of the gruesome multiple-vehicle collision at the Tarlac City Toll Plaza on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway on Thursday.

“Wala na. ‘Yung pinakamamahal kong anak, ‘yung bunso ko, sila ng asawa ko. Nito ngang pag-alis nila, sabi niya, ‘Papa, tatawag ka sa ‘kin ha. ‘Pag hindi, ako tatawag sa iyo,” this was the last conversation between Añonuevo and his child as reported by Bea Pinlac in “Balitanghali” on Friday.

(My dearest child, my youngest one, and my wife are already gone. Before they left, my child told me, ‘Papa, please call me. If not, I’ll be the one to call you.’)

Añonuevo said that his wife and 9-year-old child were supposed to go to a children’s camp organized by their church in Pangasinan.

The grieving father said that he will surely miss the sweet messages from his child.

“Ayun ang na-miss ko sa kaniya. Sasabihin, ‘Love na love kita, Papa. Kahit ano’ng mangyari, hindi kita [i]iwan. Hanggang sa magtanda ka, aalagaan kita,’” he said with unstoppable crying. “Ngayon, hindi ko na alam paanong gagawin ko…Nauna pa siya sa akin.”

(I will surely miss those kinds of messages. My child will always tell me, ‘I love you so much, Papa. No matter what happens, I will not leave you. I will take care of you until you get old.’)

Among the ten fatalities were four children while more than 30 others were hurt from the mishap caused by a bus. Most of the deaths were from the van and the SUV that were sandwiched between by the bus and the 18-wheeler truck.

“Napipi nang husto yung dalawang sasakyan na na-sandwich after siyang tinamaan ng bus…Parang sardinas na sama-sama sa loob noong dinatnan namin, kaya medyo nahirapan kami i-extricate, kasi may tatamaan ka sa katawan ng mga nasa loob,” said Marvin Guiang, head of Tarlac Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

(The two vehicles that were sandwiched were severely crushed…It was like looking at a can of sardines, that’s why we had a hard time retrieving the bodies because we will hit some body parts.)

The lone survivor from the van was a 4-year-old kid, according to authorities.

Meanwhile, a couple from the SUV died while their 2-year-old son survived.

“Yung kotse, noong aming bubuksan, nandoon yung 2-year-boy, naka-car seat nga. Minor injuries lang yung natamo niya,” said Guiang.

(When we opened the car, we found the 2-year-old boy in his car seat. He only suffered minor injuries.)

According to a relative of the 2-year-old boy, their family were on their way to Baguio for a vacation when the fatal incident happened.

The boy was already transferred to a hospital in Bulacan, where his parents’ remains were also brought.

Further, the police said that the 35 passengers of the bus were also hurt. Of the said figure, three were minors. Some of them are still being treated in Tarlac Provincial Hospital.

“Most of them naman ay minor injuries lang halos. So mga abrasions, gasgas, yung iba may kaunting pasa. Pero mayroon tayong tatlong admitted na patients na nagtamo lang nung cerebral concussion, na-alog yung utak, so for observation lang,” said surgery resident Kris Jasper Carpio,

(Most of them only had minor injuries. So they only suffered abrasions and bruises. But we admitted three patients who had cerebral concussion, but they are just for observation.)

The Tarlac PDRRMO said that the provincial government will shoulder the medical assistance of the victims and it is also assisting with regards to the remains of the fatalities.

Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said that the insurance company will grant the kin of the fatalities with P400,000 each. It already ordered a 30-day suspension on Solid North Transit Inc., the company behind the bus involved in the incident. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RSJ, GMA Integrated News