- 1 dead, 3 injured as SUV rear-ends e-bike
A TRAGIC early morning collision along the Davao City Coastal Road left one man dead and three others injured, including two minors, after an SUV slammed into the back of an e-bike in Purok 8, Bucana, Barangay 76-A, at 5:03 a.m. Sunday, June 28.
Traffic investigators identified the fatality as 23-year-old alias Salvador, a resident of Purok 7, Barangay 37-D, Davao City.
Responding Central 911 medics declared Espinosa dead on the spot due to the severity of the impact.
Initial investigation conducted by Police Station 2 (San Pedro) revealed that both vehicles—a Ford Everest SUV and an e-bike equipped with a sidecar—were traveling southbound along the outer right lane of the Bucana stretch of the coastal road.
According to the report, the front portion of the SUV, driven by 33-year-old alias Jaysie, a resident of Toril, crashed violently into the rear of the e-bike.
The e-bike was driven by 19-year-old alias Russel, a resident of Barangay 31-D, and was carrying three passengers at the time of the crash.
The impact caused severe damage to both vehicles and inflicted multiple physical injuries on the e-bike’s remaining passengers. They were rushed to the Southern Philippines Medical Center for emergency intervention.
Authorities identified two of the injured passengers as Shane, 16, and Hammar, 13.
Hospital officials did not disclose the extent of their injuries, as well as the current condition of the e-bike driver.
The SUV driver is currently under police custody, facing formal criminal charges for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, multiple physical injuries, and damage to property.
Republic Act No. 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, along with Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, prohibits e-bikes from traveling on the national highway at risk of impoundment or fines. However, they may operate on city or barangay roads where the speeding vehicles may not pose a risk to their safety.
