SunStar Zamboanga, Dec. 18, 2005
PAGADIAN CITY -- A supertanker truck of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) rammed vehicles, killing three people and injuring six others after its break broke down early morning Saturday, officials said.
The 12-year-old Daewoo fire truck driven by Senior Fire Officer 1 Juanito Madrid around 9:10 in the morning was going down town for a refuel when suddenly the brake broke down, said Fire Chief Inspector Virginia Toledo, Pagadian BFP.
Losing control of the brake, the fire truck lurched downhill in Benigno Aquino Street going in a direction towards the city's crowded bus terminal and public market.
The truck rammed four vehicles, including two tricycles, a van, a pick-up car, and a ten-wheeler cargo truck of the Provincial Government of Zamboanga del Sur.
The tricycle and the van was totally crumpled, "sandwiched" between the fire truck and a parked ten-wheeler cargo truck while it rammed and crumpled another tricycle side-sweeping a parked pick up truck then slammed into a store.
Dead on the spot were tricycle driver Sonny Singidas, 42, and resident of Barangay Paglaum this city; van passenger and its owner Jesus Mendez, 71, and resident of Barangay Sta. Lucia this city; and a lady tricycle passenger, Reyna Riza Maņacap, age not known as of press time of Barangay Tuburan this city.
The six injured, including two children, sustained serious injuries but doctors declared all in stable condition when Sun.Star made a follow up at three different hospitals were the injured victims were treated.
A 10-year-old boy, Alfonzo Yap, son of businessman Teddy Yap, needed a major operation after the left leg was fractured, said the emergency room medical attendant at Pagadian City Medical Center.
The others who were injured were identified as Carmen Caņete, 44; James Yap, 7; Diego Puerto, 36; and van driver Rommel Gutierez, 33, who "miraculously survived" after the van was totally wrecked by the speeding fire tanker truck.
It took almost an hour for authorities to rescue the driver. The driver seat was partly crumpled while the entire trunk of the van including the front seat in the passenger side was totally crumpled.
Fire officials and the police blame the delay in rescuing the driver when curious onlookers swarmed the accident area.
Police made several attempt to clear the area but obviously they were outnumbered by hundreds of onlookers.
Fire truck driver Madrid who is now detained at Pagadian police detention cell, refused to meet reporters.
Madrid was designated as Super Tanker Fire Truck Driver and served in the position for 15 years since he entered the fire bureau in 1990.
Colleagues in the bureau said Madrid is an expert fire truck driver.
On January 21 this year, after responding a fire call the same fire truck slammed into a gate of the City Engineering Office after its brake broke down.
An officer in the fire bureau said their in-house mechanic did the repair.
This year alone, three major fires broke out in three slum areas.
Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co admitted that the city lacked tanker trucks for fire suppression and the City Disaster Coordinating Council agreed to purchase additional fire truck.
