Background
At 5:40 pm (130 minutes ago), we were returning to Brooke’s Point from Rio Tuba when we came upon this scene.
Rio Tuba to Brooke's Point
According to eyewitnesses, two trucks–one of them a 14-wheeler–were speeding along the narrow two-lane national highway. They were on their way to Rio Tuba. Suddenly, a 7-year old girl darted across the road. One of the two trucks was unable to avoid hitting her. The driver tried but as his vehicle’s skid marks show, after the girl was obliterated, he lost control of his own truck causing the trailer he was pulling to separate and overturn. The cab of his own truck overturned as well. He survived and was taken to the hospital. His condition at the time of the accident was unknown.
The out-of-control truck traveled about 100 meters (330 feet).
The accident happened at about 5:30 pm.
The overturned truck cab
The 14-wheeler broke apart.
The overturned trailer was probably carrying a full container.
The overturned tractor-trailer.
The accident scene
Police officer from Brooke's Point taking a break from his distasteful task
Collecting the victim's remains.
The remains were scattered about an area spanning 10 meters.
Apparently, the girl’s torso was separated at her hips. Everything above her legs was obliterated. Her teeth were strewn all over the road.
By way of consolation, we can almost be sure that she felt no pain.
Onlookers
Images of the victim’s remains were segregated and are stored in another post
The remains of the girl that darted across the street were collected in a cardboard box. If the sight of human remains repulse you, you can stop here.
For those who want to view the images of the girl’s remains, click here. You will need to enter the following password:
iwanttoseetheimages
Why?
Tragedies like this can be expected especially because of the Filipinos’ fatalistic attitude towards life. This attitude is embodied in the common Filipino expression–bahala na. The driver wore no seat belts. And neither does the one of the vehicle in this familiar scene shown below:
We overtook this seriously-overloaded "school van" a minute before we arrived at the scene of the accident.
Retired? No way! 
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Hi, Alex. This is Sr. Lina. Just opened your blog and read about the Oring-Oring accident. I can’t believe it’s true, but it is!
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dapat bawalin na ang mga ganitong gawain ng mga pinoy guys you risk you life hope learning ito sa mga kapatid nating pinoy…
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sa mga nakatira din po sa national highway, wag nyo din po pabayaan ang anak nyo..hindi rin po siguro yan mangyayari kung ang mga anak natin ay di pinapabayaan lalo’t nasa delikadong lugar kagaya nyan..
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Salamat Liezel. Tama ka. Ang pagkaintindi ko, ang bata ay biglang tumakbo sa kabilang dulo ng kalsada at kaya siya tinamaan.
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Gosh Alex! This is so gory! Safety is really important for us to observe but what about those who do not follow it and involve the others pa? Tapos its always the driver’s fault no matter what.
I hope the parents and the community of this girl learned a lesson.
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Hi Jem. The accident really shocked me. It’s on the roads of the Philippines that the fatalistic attitude of Filipinos is on full display. From pedestrian to motorcyclist, from tricycle to minivan, from passenger bus to cargo truck, everyone takes and faces substantial risks on Philippine roads. We’re just so accustomed to it that we take it for granted. Do you know what’s particularly scary? The shuttle vans (like Lexus) that ply the northern and southern roads of Palawan. Their drivers make as many as four to five roundtrips a day (between Puerto and Bataraza, for instance) and they do it as much as six times a week. That’s driver fatigue!
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