The lone fatality was identified as Carlito dela Cerna, a 66-year-old tanod in the barangay. He died in one of the town’s hospitals at 2 p.m.
The injured were identified as Porferio Guerrero Pabuaya, 64, a native of Jubay, Bohol; John Clourenz Lumingkit, 22, and Alexis Karyle Lumingkit Flores, 17, both residents of Sitio Tangke, Barangay Dakit, Sogod; Cheraime Mondejar Magpuyo, 19, a resident of Barangay Tuminhaw, Tuburan; April Kyle Latorre, 18, a resident of Barangay Liki, Sogod; and Dindo Dizon, 47, a resident of Tabuelan.
The accident involved a Ceres bus driven by Dizon; an Autobus bus driven by Joseph Rabadan, a resident of Barangay Pitogo, Consolacion; a sports utility vehicle driven by Benny Lumapas, a resident of Barangay Polpogan, Consolacion; a pickup truck driven by Roy Boocz, a resident of Sta. Fe in Bantayan Island; and a boom truck driven by Arnel Rom, a resident of Barangay Pitogo, Consolacion.
According to Lt. Phil Restauro, chief of the Sogod Police Station, the Ceres bus and the Autobus bus were both headed to Cebu City when the Ceres bus slowed down to give way to a car headed north. But when the Ceres bus made a complete stop, it was rammed by the Autobus bus.
The force of the impact pushed the Ceres bus off the highway where it hit dela Cerna who was standing by the roadside before crashing into a house.
The Autobus bus went on to hit the SUV and the pickup truck. The boom truck, which was heading north, also hit the pickup truck.
According to Restauro, the area is accident-prone because it is downhill blind curve.
“When the driver of the Ceres bus stepped on the brakes to avoid the SUV in the opposite lane, the Ceres bus was rammed from the back by the Autobus bus,” Restauro said in Cebuano.
The five drivers of the vehicles involved in the mashup are currently in police custody.
According to Restauro, they will continue their investigation, as the drivers of the two buses are pointing fingers at each other.
In a statement posted on her official page, Sogod Mayor Lissa Marie “Moonyeen” Durano-Streegan said she was saddened by what had happened and urged motorists passing by her town to continue to be careful. (GPL, JKV / PJB)