Van overturns, kills teacher in Zamboanga City

Overloaded passenger jeeps are a common sight in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines and despite the hazards and dangers it poses, policemen and traffic aides play blind to the glaring violations of traffic laws. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A 50-year old teacher was killed and 19 others injured after the van they were riding overturned on Wednesday in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said.

Police said the passenger van was travelling over 100 kilometers per hour when it overturned near Caragasan village. The driver, Bashir Salahiron, was apparently trying to avoid a collision with a motorcycle that suddenly crossed his path when the accident occurred.

The van, carrying more than a dozen passengers, was heading to Ayala village in the west coast, police said, adding, the lone fatality has been identified as Sophia Dimawala.

Two passengers, who previously rode with Salahiron, said the driver was reckless and that many times nearly or had hit other vehicles while plying the same route.

Salahiron has surrendered to the police and is now detained. He is facing criminal and civil charges.

One automotive mechanic also alleged that many van drivers plying the route were drug users and that in some occasion offered him shabu, but he declined to take the illegal drug.

Zamboanga City has one of the most ineffective traffic management in the region where police authorities and local government, including the Land Transportation Office, ignored serious violations of traffic rules by jeepney drivers. Many commuter jeeps take passengers and allow them to sit on the roof and often are overloaded.

Many transport vehicles plying the east coast villages also take passengers more than the capacity of their jeepney, but nothing has been done by the traffic police and traffic personnel from City Hall about this violation.

Just this year, a speeding passenger jeep rammed a concrete pole on the highway before rolling over on its side and killing the 30-year old Romualdo Apolinario and injured over a dozen more, many sitting on the roof.

The jeep’s driver Jan Michael Fabian said he avoided a collision with a motorcycle and lost control of the wheel. The motorcycle driver, a student of the Western Mindanao State University, said the jeep clipped his bike before ramming the pole.

Traffic violations remain unabated here - from illegal parking to overloaded jeeps and mini-buses to abusive drivers. (Mindanao Examiner)

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