A Filipino caregiver died in a three-vehicle crash on a Taiwan highway on August 19, 2026, while on her way to the airport to fly home to the Philippines, according to a report aired Monday on GMA News program “24 Oras.”
The victim, Ebella Escolonia Cortes, had been riding in a van with her two Filipino employers when the vehicle was involved in a minor collision with a car. The van pulled over on the highway, and the two drivers stepped out to talk. It was at that moment that another car slammed into them.
Both drivers standing outside the vehicles were killed. Cortes, who remained inside the van, was struck and did not survive. Her employers, who were also in the van, sustained injuries but lived. The driver of the second car that hit the group survived as well.
Cortes’s son Roy, one of ten siblings, appealed for help in holding the responsible driver accountable. He recalled speaking with his mother shortly before the crash, when she reminded them to stay safe.
“Sana po matulungan ninyo ang nanay ko. Mapanagot yung nakabangga at sana magkaroon ng hustisya,” Roy said.
The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) extended condolences to Cortes’s bereaved family and pledged assistance. The office said it is coordinating with Taiwanese authorities and relevant agencies regarding the incident and the ongoing investigation.
MECO is also working with the family to repatriate Cortes’s remains, an effort expected to take place on August 30. Investigators have yet to determine what caused the collision.
