A heartbreaking tragedy unfolded in Bago City, Negros Occidental, after a six-months pregnant nurse was fatally struck by two vehicles while crossing a pedestrian lane on Sunday night. Her unborn child also did not survive.
Authorities identified the victim as 36-year-old Maria Angela Buendia, who was on her way to report for a night shift duty in Valladolid when the accident happened in Barangay Taloc.
According to a GMA Regional TV report, citing the police, Buendia was first hit by a car driven by Philip Jansen Cantiller, which caused her to be thrown to the other side of the road. A second vehicle, this time driven by Salvador Castro, hit her again.
Her baby boy, who would have been her second child, was forcibly delivered due to the impact but was pronounced dead shortly after.
Buendia’s grieving mother-in-law, Carmela Buendia, expressed the family’s anguish. “We demand justice. Two lives were taken from us. Two drivers should be jailed,” she said, adding that one of the drivers clearly saw her daughter-in-law walking on the pedestrian lane but still failed to stop.
Castro, one of the drivers, acknowledged the family’s right to file charges and said in a statement, “It was an accident. We didn’t mean for it to happen. It hurts that she was pregnant… I’m very sorry.”
The other driver, Cantiller, also claimed the incident was unintentional.
Both men are facing complaints for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.
Lt. Col. Ariel Pico, officer-in-charge of the Bago City Police Station, urged motorists to exercise extreme caution when driving at night. “For those with heavily tinted vehicles, please avoid driving in low-visibility conditions. Even well-lit areas may not be enough to spot pedestrians,” he warned.
