CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Five persons died while nine others were badly hurt when the vehicle they were riding turned turtle at the Barangay Tabuyoc, Apalit, Pampanga section of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), traffic policemen said.
Senior Supt. Jean Fajardo, director Pampanga Provincial Police Office, said the identities of the fatalities are being established by investigators as efforts have been doubled to inform their next of kin.
“Investigators are still checking the identities of the victims who were on board of the ill-fated H-100 Hyundai Van with conduction sticker MR 8220, ” said Fajardo.
The vehicle, Fajardo said, was cruising on high speed along NLEX heading towards Clark International Airport when the left rear tire exploded shortly after the van reached the boundaries of Apalit, Pampanga and Calumpit in Bulacan.
The van’s driver, John Leo Abad Jaylo, 28, of Iligan City, lost control of the wheel as it turned turtle before resting on the road shoulder.
Some of the van’s occupants were thrown out of the vehicle and others were pinned to death, said Fajardo.
Government rescue teams extracted the victims from the wrecked van and rushed them to nearby Jose B Lingad Memorial Hospital in City of San Fernando, Ascom General Hospital and Premier Hospital both in Apalit, Pampanga.
Fajardo said occupants of the van were all women, except the driver.
Appropriate charges are being readied against Jaylo.