WAYWARD VAN. Police officers check on the passengers of a wayward van that plowed through a row of houses in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao on Wednesday (Nov. 24, 2021). A construction worker sleeping inside the comfort of his home was killed in the incident. (Photo courtesy of Rajah Buayan MRRMC)
COTABATO CITY – A construction worker resting on a hammock inside his roadside home in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao died when a wayward passenger van plowed through several homes made of light materials in the area on Wednesday noon.
Rajah Buayan Mayor Jack Ampatuan said the man was asleep in a hammock inside his home when the speeding white Toyota Hi-Ace passenger van hit at least three houses along the highway in Barangay Sapakan.
The mayor identified the fatality as Saiden Esmael, 37, a construction worker of a police station in Rajah Buayan.
The identity of the van driver was not immediately made available, Ampatuan said.
“He was resting when the freak accident happened,” Ampatuan said over a local radio station interview.
The victim was immediately laid to rest by his relatives according to Islamic rites.
“Both sides, the van owner and the victim’s relatives, have agreed to a peaceful settlement,” he said.
Ampatuan said traffic investigation is still ongoing as of this posting.
A witness who saw the incident said in a separate radio interview that the van was speeding at the time of the incident.
“The driver might have lost control of the steering wheel,” the witness, identified only as a certain Datu, said. (PNA)
