BY MA. THERESA LADIAO
ILOILO – A tragic start to the New Year unfolded in Sara, Iloilo, as the motorcycle collision claimed the lives of two individuals and left two others injured on January 1.
The accident occurred on the boundary of barangays Padios and Salcedo when a Suzuki Raider motorcycle, reportedly traveling at high speed, collided head-on with a Kawasaki Bajaj motorcycle.
The fatalities were identified as Kawasaki Bajaj driver Norberto “Bembem” Diolata, 37, of Barangay Alcantara, Lemery town, and Suzuki Raider driver Eugene Valderama, a resident of Barangay Tambaliza, Concepcion town.
Police said both drivers succumbed to severe head injuries.
Diolata’s backriders, his girlfriend Cherry Jovillo, 34, of Barangay Lo-ong, Concepcion, and Jetmar Paigalan, 44, survived but suffered multiple fractures on their bodies.
According to Police Corporal Joven Bajon of the Sara Municipal Police Station, Valderama’s motorcycle crossed into the opposite lane, directly colliding with Diolata’s vehicle.
“The impact was so powerful that the victims were thrown from their motorcycles. The crash caused the Kawasaki Bajaj’s tire to detach and its engine to split open. The speed of the Suzuki Raider likely contributed to the severity of the collision,” said Bajon.
The bodies of Diolata and Valderama were sent to a funeral home, while Jovillo and Paigalan were still receiving medical care at West Visayas State University Medical Center in Iloilo City./PN
