By JEN BAYLON
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez ordered an investigation into the bus accident that killed a public school teacher and injured 34 others in Negros Occidental’s Don Salvador Benedicto town on Friday, June 14.
“It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that we announce a tragic vehicular accident involving a bus owned by the city,” Benitez said in a statement.
“We will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause of this tragic accident and to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future,” he added.
A city government-owned bus, carrying 32 teachers of Paglaum Village Elementary School in Bacolod, while five were their immediate family members, fell on its side at Purok Talus in the town’s Barangay Igmaya-an at 5:40 p.m.
They, along with the driver and a conductor, were returning home from a team-building activity in San Carlos City’s Sipaway Island.
Police identified the fatality as 42-year-old Arlyn Verde, a resident of Murcia town.
An initial investigation showed that the bus was approaching a curved part of the road in Purok Talus as the brakes failed.
Benitez said Verde reportedly panicked and was slammed when the bus fell on its left side.
Meanwhile, 59-year-old bus driver Nelmo Gonzaga was detained at the Don Salvador Benedicto Police Station.
Maria Laarni Pornan, head of the Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said 11 passengers were in serious or critical condition, 15 were less critical, and eight were wounded.
They were brought to three different hospitals in Bacolod.
Some of them were already discharged after they underwent medical examinations over the weekend.
The Department of Social Services and Development will assess their needs and facilitate the immediate release of their assistance.
The city government provided medical assistance to all injured passengers, Benitez said.
They have also assured that it will take all necessary measures to enhance the safety protocols for its city government-owned transportation services./JB, WDJ