DOTr suspends bus firm’s operations after fatal SCTEX crash

(Photo from the PHILIPPINE RED CROSS)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday ordered the suspension of Solid North Bus Transit Inc.’s operations, after one of its units triggered a fatal multi-vehicle crash along the Subic – Clark – Tarlac expressway (SCTEX).

The highway crash resulted in the death of  12 persons and injuries to at least 27 others,  according to the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO Central Luzon).

READ: Multi-vehicle accident on SCTEx in Tarlac kills 12 on Labor Day

“Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to immediately issue a suspension order against Solid North Bus, following the fatal road crash in SCTEX earlier today,” the DOTr said in an advisory.

Initial investigation from PRO Central Luzon showed that the accident occurred at around 12:30 p.m. when the passenger bus hit an SUV which was at full stop along with other vehicles at the Lane 2 (northbound) of the SCTEX toll plaza.

The strong impact resulted in a ripple effect, with the SUV also crashing into the other vehicles in front of it.

Meanwhile in a message to INQUIRER.net, LTFRB chair Teofilo ‘Jojo’ Guadiz II said he already instructed the agency’s legal division to issue an immediate suspension order on the bus involved in the accident.

“Tomorrow, when [the] office opens, we will check the route of the bus concerned (Solid North Bus), and thereafter issue a suspension of the entire fleet,” Guadiz told INQUIRER.net.

Guadiz said LTFRB’s records show that the bus involved in the accident was registered to Dagupan Bus Co, the bus operator now under Pangasinan Solid North after it was acquired by the JAC Liner Group of Companies.