“Ganito talaga sila.”
A Facebook user shared his observations after doing a “truck spotting” activity about an hour after the fatal road crash involving an 18-wheeler trailer truck that plowed into five vehicles along Batasan-San Mateo Road.
The multiple-vehicle crash occurred late Wednesday night, May 28, when a speeding trailer truck lost control while traversing the road toward Marikina and overturned.
Reports said that the truck continued to slide fast as it overturned, hitting other vehicles nearby, including a car, three motorcycles, and an Asian Utility Vehicle.
The crash also claimed the lives of an unidentified man who was in a waiting shed and a passenger on one of the motorcycles involved.
The truck carried construction materials.
“Tumama siya sa isang kotse, tumama sa poste. ‘Yung karga na container ay nahulog, then napunta po siya sa kabilang side ng kalsada,” Police Lt. Col. Geoffrey Lim, chief of the Quezon City Police District Traffic Enforcement Unit, said in an interview.
Due to the force of the impact, the container van was separated from the truck and was thrown several meters before landing in the middle of the road.
A light post was also knocked down, causing heavy traffic in the area for several hours before it was cleared.
The 38-year-old truck driver, who came from Manila to deliver to Marikina, said the truck’s brakes suddenly failed.
“Sa stop light, palusong eh, bigla humina preno… hanggang sa wala na, hindi ko na makontrol. Dire-diretso na, kaya no choice ako, kaya ‘yung manibela, kung saan-saan na ho lumiko,” he narrated.
The truck driver also apologized to those affected by the road crash.
“Pasensya na ho, hindi ko po talaga kagustuhan mangyari ‘yung ganon dahil aksidente ho talaga,” he said.
The truck driver is facing a complaint for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple counts of homicide, physical injuries, and damage to property.
Meanwhile, Facebook user Chris Corpuz thought of observing the particular road “one hour after the road crash” to see how fast trucks were really going in that area.
“Heto naman ang mga truck na hataw pa rin palusong na hindi alintana na kung ano posibleng mangyari,” he said in the Facebook group “How’s your byahe, bes?” on Thursday, May 29.
“Nag-truck spotting ako sa kanto namin at ganito talaga ang eksena rito tuwing gabi,” Corpuz added.
Another Facebook user commented that the area appeared to be “accident-prone,” sharing links to some reports about trucks in Batasan-San Mateo Road being involved in crashes.
The links also include what appeared to be CCTV footage sent to automotive publication VISOR by a reader.
“I want to share our experience this day. Happened this morning at 7:14 a.m. while asking the price of scrap iron from a junk shop owner. San Mateo Road, Batasan Road, Batasan Hills, Quezon City,” the post reads.
Another automotive publication, AutoIndustriya.com, also reshared dashcam footage showing the road crash as taken from her daughter’s car, who received a call while driving.
The truck was on her right side when it suddenly crashed.
Authorities said that the crash left three individuals dead and seven people injured.
In November 2024, a wing van hit four vehicles on the same road. The incident left one person dead and two individuals injured.
In October 2017, a 22-wheeler truck caused a nine-vehicle smashup on the Batasan-San Mateo Road. The crash killed five people.
In the same month but in 2011, a ten-wheeler truck plowed into houses along the same road and left five people injured.
Last December, concerns about truck-related road crashes appeared online following recent reports of crashes involving the vehicles during that period.
MMDA chairperson Romando Artes previously reminded truck drivers to maintain their vehicles properly and to drive responsibly.
ALSO READ: ‘Medyo nagiging common’: Concerns grow over truck accidents in Metro Manila
