18-5-2024 (MANILA) In a heartbreaking incident on Wednesday, 15 May, the charred bodies of a mother and her eight-month-old son were discovered embracing each other following a devastating vehicle fire in Quezon Province, Philippines. The tragedy unfolded after a multi-vehicle collision involving a tuktuk, or three-wheeled motorcycle.
The ill-fated tuktuk was carrying nine passengers when it burst into flames after being struck by a delivery truck. According to a post-mortem examination, the mother and her infant son sustained head injuries from impacting a metal part of the vehicle before the ensuing fire engulfed them.
Their relatives, deeply moved by the poignant scene, chose to cremate the mother and son together, preserving their final embrace. “It was a powerful testament to a mother’s love for her child,” a family member shared with TV Patrol.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:10 a.m. as the tuktuk was travelling along a highway towards Albay province. Among the deceased were five members of the same family, including the mother and her son. Three other passengers, along with the 32-year-old driver, sustained injuries in the crash.
The tragic sequence began when the tuktuk was rear-ended by a delivery truck, causing it to collide with the back of a passenger bus. While the bus also caught fire, its driver and all 40 passengers managed to escape unharmed. The truck subsequently veered off the road and overturned, but the driver survived without injury.
On Thursday, 16 May, the relatives of the deceased, including the grieving husband, sought justice at the Quezon justice hall, filing charges against Ernesto Alberto, the 51-year-old driver of the delivery truck. Alberto faces multiple counts of homicide.
Complicating the situation, some bodies have not yet been released from the funeral parlour due to outstanding dues. Marilou Jacob, the operator of the delivery truck, expressed her sorrow over the delay. “I feel bad for the victims because this hasn’t been fixed,” she told TV Patrol. “If there’s anyone with a kind heart watching this, please help the victims.”
