BY FELIPE CELINO
ROXAS City – A Manila-bound Ceres bus fell into a river in Brgy. Agambulong, Jamindan, Capiz. Nobody died but 28 persons were injured.
A passenger, 54-year-old Thelma Salvador of Calinog, Iloilo, castigated the bus driver for the near-fatal accident.
She said Eusebio Vipinosa Jr. was driving so fast that he lost control when they reached a blind curve leading to a bridge around 6:40 p.m. on Sunday.
The Ceres bus with body number 11018 was from Iloilo province and was proceeding to the Caticlan port in Malay, Aklan for a Manila-bound roll on, roll off ship, said PO2 Reggie Robles of the Jamindan police station.
The bus had a total of 28 persons inside, including Vipinosa and his fare collector.
Local residents said the bus hit a concrete barrier of the road and a tree before falling into the river some five meters deep.
They immediately rushed to help the passengers get out of the bus, they said.
The passengers and Vipinosa, a resident of Fairview, Quezon City, were taken to the Mambusao District Hospital in Mambusao, Capiz.
Most of them sustained bruises and minor cuts, and were subsequently discharged from the hospital after treatment.
Though she blamed the driver for the accident, Salvador said she acknowledged that Vipinosa was very likely tired.
From what she had gathered, said Salvador, Vipinosa had very little rest. Just a few hours after reaching Iloilo from Manila, he was made to drive the bus back to Manila.
Another passenger, 32-year-old Ronnel Pelaez, said almost half of the bus got submerged in the river.
Local residents considered the area accident-prone, citing several mishaps that had happened there through the years.
Others blamed the Department of Public Works and Highways for failing to install signs warning of a sharp curve ahead.
