A Cher passenger bus bound for Baclaran in Manila in the Phillipines smashed into a taxi on Thursday morning, injuring a pregnant women. The initial bus crash triggered a six vehicle collision on the busy EDSA-Magallanes interchange in Makati city – only the pregnant women was injured with other drivers and passengers incurring only damage to their vehicles.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, or MMDA, reported that the Cher bus with a number plate TYG-266 was driving along the interchange at pace when it slammed into a taxi in the adjacent lane at around 7.41am.
The bus collision caused the taxi to slide into another taxi, which in turn hit two other cars and a Toyota Tamaraw van on the highway, causing chaos for oncoming traffic.
The MMDA Road Emergency and Rescue Unit responded promptly to the collision, and reported that the only person injured was Christian May Gonzales, who was a passenger in the taxi cab that was initially struck by the bus.
Gonzales is 5 months pregnant, and was rushed immediately to nearby Taguig City where she is currently receiving treatment at St Luke’s Hospital.
After the collision, the highway was closed to traffic to clear the debris, and according to the MMDA, the area was reopened at 8.53am. The bus driver as well as eye witnesses from the scene were taken to a nearby police station for questioning.
This is the second major accident on the same stretch of EDSA highway this week. Eight people were injured on Wednesday afternoon when another passenger bus also bound for Baclaran smashed into the side railings of the EDSA-Ortigas flyover near the city of Mandaluyong.
In this incident, the MMDA reported that the bus operated by bus company Don Mariano was driving towards Bacalaran when it crashed into the side railing of the flyover at around 2.40pm. Seven passengers on the bus were injured in the incident, as well as a motorcyclist who was also involved in the collision.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated, but initial reports from eye witnesses claim that the bus driver, Florencio Biron, swerved the bus suddenly in order to avoid the motorcyclist who had drifted into the buses lane. Despite swerving, the motorcyclist was still hit by the bus, fracturing his right arm. All the injured persons were transferred to the Victor Potenciano Hospital in Mandaluyong City for treatment.
Investigators are yet to determine the cause of the latest accident on the EDSA highway.