By CESAR JOLITO III

A mother and her child were killed while seven others were injured after a delivery truck crashed into a roadside house at Barangay Pandanon in Negros Occidental’s Don Salvador Benedicto town on Monday afternoon, May 25.

Police identified the fatalities as 23-year-old Judy Ann and her one-year-old son.

Injured in the incident were several occupants of the house identified as aliases Oliver, Larry and Mela, along with two other minors.

Two passengers of the truck, identified as aliases Jojo and Dex, both residents of Murcia town’s Barangay Canlandog, also sustained injuries.

The truck was being driven by a 58-year-old man identified by police as alias “France.”

Don Salvador Benedicto police said the truck was traveling downhill at around 12:55 p.m. when its brakes reportedly malfunctioned.

Investigators said the driver lost control of the vehicle while navigating a curved section of the road, causing the truck to veer off and slam directly into the victims’ house located along the highway in Purok Super L.

The impact completely destroyed the house.

Authorities said the truck allegedly ran over the mother and child, resulting in their deaths.

All injured victims were rushed to a hospital for treatment, while the truck driver was taken into police custody./CJ, WDJ