By Mary Judaline Partlow
DUMAGUETE CITY – A government employee died while three other colleagues were injured after the government-owned commuter van they were riding lost its brakes and crashed into trees in Barangay Malusay, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Thursday afternoon.
Lt. Col. Romeo Cubo, chief of the Guihulngan City Police Station, said Friday the driver and the three passengers were employees of the Pag-IBIG Fund.
The initial police investigation showed the van was traveling from Sitio Palao in Barangay Malusay to Guihulngan City proper at about 2 p.m. when its brakes reportedly failed while negotiating a curve.
The driver alerted the passengers about the brake failure but eventually lost control of the vehicle, which slammed into gmelina and coconut trees along the roadside.
Cubo said the passenger seated beside the driver sustained severe injuries and was declared dead on arrival at the Guihulngan District Hospital.
“According to the driver, when he informed the passengers that the brakes had failed, the passenger beside him allegedly attempted to jump from the vehicle,” he said.
The driver and the two passengers seated at the rear of the van sustained injuries and remain under observation at the hospital.
Police said the fatality was a resident of Dumaguete City, while the three survivors are from Cebu. Authorities have withheld their identities pending notification of the victim’s family.
Cubo said police are awaiting the arrival of the victim’s relatives to claim the body. (PNA)
