Killed was Marvin Barrientos, 40, of Barangay Pacac here. His backrider, public school teacher Joe Laurence Mata, was rushed to a hospital in Tarlac City due to eye injuries, sources said.
The two minors, a Grade 10 boy and Grade 11 girl, sustained minor injuries and were brought to nearby hospital, police said.
The other victim was a tricycle driver which rammed the one driven by Barrientos after the latter went wayward.
Insp. Ronald Stockton, deputy chief of police, said EOD personnel from the Northern Luzon Command have yet to ascertain what really has exploded.
A barangay councilman from the residential area some 500 meters from the explosion site said it shook the earth.
But witnesses believe it was an explosive planted by unidentified suspects intended for a team of policemen which has just passed through the road on board a back-to-back police mobile.
The policemen came from an investigation duty in a warehouse that was burned by purported NPA rebels in nearby Nampicuan.
Stockton said an investigation is ongoing and “we could not say anything conclusive yet.”.
EOD personnel recovered few suspected shrapnels from the area.
