5 dead, 9 hurt in Tarlac road mishap

Five passengers died while nine others were injured after the closed van they were riding hit a fence along the Central Luzon Link Expressway in Tarlac.

According to Jasmin Gabriel-Galban’s Tuesday report on “24 Oras,” the van driver said he lost control of the vehicle before hitting the fence and veering off to the side of the road.

“Ayon sa driver, bigla po siyang nawalan ng kontrol sa steering wheel na nag-cause para bumanga siya sa metal fence at nag-crash nga po ‘yung van natin,” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Ranier Mercado, Tarlac Police chief.

(According to the driver, he suddenly lost control of the steering wheel, which caused him to crash into the metal fence.)

The driver was among the injured individuals who were brought to the hospital for medical treatment.

The victims were workers from Caloocan City who were headed to Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

“This is self-accident po. Kung titingnan mo ang impact, mabilis nasa 80-100 po ‘yung takbo nila (If we look at the impact, the vehicle was moving fast. About 80 to 100 km/h),” Mercado said.

Investigation is ongoing.

The victims and their families have yet to comment on the accident. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News