GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 24 Dec) – Seven people, including members of a family vacationing from Cagayan de Oro City, died while another was injured in a road crash Monday afternoon in the outskirts of Tupi town, South Cotabato province.
The victims, mostly members of the Maglinte family of Bugo, Cagayan de Oro City, had just visited a tourism site near Mt. Matutum and descending towards the town proper aboard a Suzuki Super Carry van when it crashed onto a roadside tree at a portion of Zone 3, Sitio Lote North in Barangay Cebuano, Tupi past 3 p.m.
Emil Sumagaysay, Tupi Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head, said the vehicle lost its brakes while traversing a steep portion of the road while coming down from the Magsangyaw Land of Praise tourism site in Sitio Kitubo, Barangay Juan-Loreto Tamayo.
“Based on reports, the vehicle lost its brake and then the driver panicked and crashed it to a tree,” he said in a radio interview.
Sumagaysay said responders from the Bureau of Fire Protection, who rushed to the scene after receiving a call about the incident at 3:28 p.m., found the driver conscious but all passengers were unresponsive and with severe injuries.
“The impact of the crash was quite strong, especially on the passenger side. The driver’s seat fell off upon impact and it carried him,” he said.
Sumagaysay said the driver, identified as Oliver Jay Maglinte, 26, was immediately brought to the Roel Senador Memorial Hospital in Tupi for treatment.
The seven passengers, who included two minors, were already dead upon arrival at the same hospital.
They were identified as the couple Joel Maglinte, 57, and Annabelle Maglinte, 53 (parents of the driver, Oliver Jay); Lloyd Justin Maglinte, 20; Erwin John Maglinte, 22; Joan Mae Maglinte, 29; Jeorgina Margarette Gallarde, 7; and Yunna Valkyrie S. Radaza, 8.
The Maglintes were listed as residents of Greenville Subdivision, Bugo, Cagayan De Oro City, while the two minors were relatives from Polomolok, South Cotabato.
The driver, who sustained contusions and abrasions on various parts of his body, was transferred Monday night to the St. Elizabeth Hospital here for further treatment.
Sumagaysay said they are still waiting for the result of the investigation by the Tupi municipal police station.
He said the municipal government had repeatedly cautioned visitors regarding the steep roads to and from the tourism site and installed proper road signages.
“We need to do more road safety advocacy. Drivers need to be more careful and always check their vehicles, especially if they are NOT familiar with the area,” he said. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)
