Ten people, including a four-year-old, have died in a multi-vehicle collision along the northbound lane of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
At noon on May 1, a speeding bus operated by Solid North Transit Inc. plowed into three cars and a closed van truck in the toll plaza of SCTEX northbound.
According to reports, the bus was en route to Lingayen, Pangasinan from Cubao.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Rommel Santos, chief of police of Tarlac City, said that based on their initial investigation, the bus driver dozed off while driving.
“Sa pagkakaidlip niya dahil full speed siya, kaya ‘di po niya namalayan na approaching na po siya doon sa SCTEX toll plaza,” he added, per GMA News.
Due to the severity of the crash, Marvin Guiang, head of the Tarlac Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said that the retrieval and rescue operations took them two hours.
Among the fatalities were eight passengers of a Nissan Urvan going to a church camp, including four minors, the youngest being only four years old. The driver, who was the only one in the van who survived the ordeal, remains in critical condition at the Tarlac Provincial Hospital.
The other two deaths were an engineer couple driving a Kia Sonet going to Baguio for a supposed vacation. Their two-year-old child was able to survive despite the total vehicle wreck. The toddler has now been taken in by his aunts and uncles, Guiang said.
Dr. Jasper Carpio, a resident surgeon of Tarlac Provincial Hospital, said that most of the casualties were caused by traumatic brain injury, per ABS-CBN report. Meanwhile, 37 others sustained injuries, including the bus driver and the conductor.
The bus driver has been taken into custody. He might face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides, multiple serious physical injuries, and multiple damages to properties.
LTFRB, DOTr suspend Solid North operations
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has given a 30-day preventive suspension to 15 public utility buses under Case No. CO-EB-2025-04-058. The affected units were routed from Cubao, Quezon City, to Lingayen, Pangasinan.
During this period, the bus operators must undergo the following, as ordered by the agency:
- Undergo a Road Safety Seminar for all drivers assigned to the affected units;
- Conduct compulsory drug testing for all drivers and conductors of the suspended units;
- Pass a roadworthiness inspection of all suspended buses, to be conducted by the LTO or authorized vehicle inspection centers;
- Submit video documentation of the roadworthiness inspection, road safety seminar, and drug testing;
- Provide proof of insurance payouts to ensure victims receive the mandated compensation.
The LTFRB has also ordered the bus operator to surrender the physical plates of the suspended units to the LTFRB Legal Division immediately. If they are found operating, they are to be apprehended and impounded by the LTO, MMDA, and the PNP-HPG.
In the same statement, LTFRB Chairperson Atty. Teofilo Guadiz III has also instructed its Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency (PAMI) arm to process and release the insurance claims of the multi-vehicle collision.
“They should start identifying the dead bodies and indemnify the families—P400,000 for each deceased passenger,” he said, while adding that the maximum insurance coverage for each non-deceased passenger is P200,000.
The Department of Transportation has also imposed a 30-day suspension on the entire fleet of Pangasinan Solid North Transit Inc. while the investigation is underway.
They have likewise ordered the LTFRB to file criminal charges against the bus driver and the company.
Solid North Transit says they will be ‘responsible and accountable’
Following the directives, the Pangasinan Solid North Transit, Inc. announced in the statement that they had stopped all their operations.
“In compliance with the directive of DOTr, Pangasinan Solid North Transit, Inc. (PSNTI) has stopped its whole operations,” the bus unit said in a statement, as shared on Facebook.
It added that passengers whose bookings were affected by the suspension may request their respective cancellations.
“We are one with the nation in sympathizing with those affected by this unfortunate event,” the statement reads.
“We understand the severity of the situation, and we will be responsible and accountable for it,” it added.
