A motorcyclist was killed after being hit by a bus belonging to Nova Auto Transport in Quezon City in the Phillipines on Wednesday.
The motorcyclist, who is yet to be identified, was riding the motorcycle with another man along Belfast Avenue to Quezon City, Manila when a bus collided with the motorcycle. The bus driver at the time has been identified as Frank Verona, a Philippine citizen.
Emergency rescue personnel arrived rapidly to the scene, and both motorcyclists were transported immediately to East Avenue Medical Center. One of the men died of his injuries at approximately 4am, while the other remains in a critical condition at the Medical Center.
According to the bus driver, the motorcyclist was riding on the wrong side of the road when the collision occurred. However, according to eye witness reports from Olivia Gultiano, another motorcyclist who was driving behind the pair involved in the collision, the bus driver appeared to be racing against another bus and collided with the motorcycle at high speed.
Verano has been arrested and is currently in the custody of the Quezon City Police District. He is expected to be charged with reckless driving, impudence and culpable homicide.
This latest accident occurs just 24 hours after another Nova bus was involved in a serious collision with a CEM Transport bus on Tuesday, which injured 27 passengers and the bus driver. Nova Transportation has the worst accident record of any transportation company in the Phillipines, with this latest accident marking the 17th accident for Nova since 2009.
Following the latest two incidents, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has suspended all Nova Auto Transport vehicles with immediate effect. The initial suspension will be for a period of 30 days, in which time the Land Transportation Office will be conducting road-worthiness test into all 76 of the company’s buses, as well as further investigations into the cause of their high accident record. Nova’s drivers will also all be subjected to drug tests, and will be instructed to attend advanced driving lessons.
On Tuesday, the LTFRB has issues a suspension of ten buses owned by Nova after the collision between a Nova bus and CEM Transit bus. However, this suspension has now been extended to cover Nova’s entire fleet. Following the 30 day suspension, the LTFRB will make a decision whether to allow Nova to continue operations, said LTFRB Chairman, James Jacob.