ILL-FATED VAN. Rescuers pull out the driver of a minivan after his vehicle smashed the rear portion of a parked cargo truck along the national highway in Midsayap, North Cotabato, early Sunday morning (Feb. 5, 2024). The driver died while six of his companions, including two minors, sustained injuries and are now recuperating in a hospital. (Photo courtesy of Midsayap MPS)
MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato – Motorists here have asked the local government Monday not to allow huge cargo trucks to park along the national highway to prevent road crashes.
The calls mounted after a van driver was killed and his six passengers were hurt when the minivan he was driving hit the rear portion of a parked cargo truck in Barangay Poblacion 8 here before dawn Sunday.
Lt. Col. John Miridel Calinga, municipal police chief, said driver Hezam Tambilan, 25, was pinned to death after his van smashed a parked cargo truck at about 4 a.m.
Tambilan and six relatives, including two minors, were heading to Cotabato City from Davao City when the accident happened.
Calinga said the injured passengers are now recuperating at a local hospital.
Amancio Distor, 45, a town resident and driver of a passenger van plying the Cotabato-Davao route, said cargo trucks usually park beside the highway to spend the night or while waiting for the lifting of truck ban in nearby areas.
“Many drivers neglect to use early warning devices, leading to accidents where fast-moving cars collide with parked trucks,” he said in the vernacular.
Edgardo Uy Valdemor, another driver, echoed Distor’s observations, noting that trucks should be banned from parking along the national highway “because that is hazardous to other motorists.”
The local government unit has yet to issue a statement on the matter. (PNA)
