A driver died while five other motorists were injured on Monday morning, Oct. 20, after a wayward cargo truck caught fire in a road accident in Atimonan town in Quezon province.
Atimonan police, in a spot report, said a cargo truck driven by ‘Rolando,’ was negotiating a descending curved section of the Maharlika Highway in Barangay Malinao Ilaya at 6:40 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle due to mechanical trouble.
The wayward truck consequently crashed into a pile of mud on the roadside, hitting a parked wrecked truck, causing it to tilt on its side, and subsequently slid and bumped two running tricycles.
After the collision, the truck caught fire and eventually exploded, police said.
Rolando was trapped inside the burning truck and died on the spot.
The fire and gasoline sprays caused injuries to the two trike drivers identified as ‘Edwin,’ 58; ‘Meriel,’ 28, and his three passengers – ‘Amethys,’ 13, ‘Jamela,’ 11, and ‘Angel,’ 13.
They were brought to a hospital in the locality for treatment.
Local firemen rushed to the site and extinguished the fire on the burning truck. INQ