A belated report reaching Camp Olivas here said the victims were all relatives who were on their way home from Bicol where they had attended a wake of another relative. They were headed home in Tuba, La Union when the accident happened at about 4 a.m.
The fatalities were identifi ed as van driver Jemor Bueno, 58, and his passengers eight-year-old Ermar Cortez, Teresita Basadre, Silvestre Basadre, Lolita Marzan, and Andrea Duran. Eight other van passengers survived but were reported to be in critical condition.
Police said that impact of the collision was so powerful as to totally damage the van and throw afar the bodies of the fatalities and the eight other passengers, some of whom had dismembered limbs when brought to the Tarlac Provincial Hospital.
The driver of the Transair bus, identified as Pepito de la Luna, said the van veered towards his lane. He said he failed to skirt the van which, he claimed, was too fast. The bus was headed to Cubao, Quezon City.
De la Luna was charged with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide.
