Actor AJ Perez killed in Tarlac road accident

(Updated 11:20 a.m.) Filipino teenage heartthrob AJ Perez was killed while some of his co-passengers in a rented van were injured in a road accident in Tarlac province shortly before midnight Saturday. Police said Perez (Antonello Joseph Sarte Perez in real life) was on a van that figured in an accident with a passenger bus. “Si AJ, nasa likod ng driver’s seat. Yan ang bahagi na may tama," Moncada town police director Chief Inspector Augusto Pasamonte said in an interview on dzBB radio early Sunday. Citing initial reports reaching him, Pasamonte said other van passengers who were with Perez were injured and rushed to a nearby hospital. He said the bus driver, who he did not immediately identify, was taken into custody. “Ang Patras driver under custody na ng ating station," he said. According to Pasamonte, charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and multiple physical injuries will be filed against driver on Monday. A separate report on the Philippine Entertainment Portal said Perez, 18, was pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m. Sunday, due to multiple head injuries. The PEP.ph report said Perez’s father and a security personnel were also aboard the rented van when the accident occurred. One of Perez’s last Twitter entries indicated he had just come from a show in Dagupan City. “On the way home already from Dagupan.Long drive ahead," read the tweet. Hours after news about Perez's death broke out, the promotions head of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. tweeted: "The family of AJ Perez decided to donate AJ's cornea to blind singer Fatima Soriano." Soriano, born blind and who will turn 18 this June, regularly performs on a daily noontime show of a television network.— with a report by Marnie Tonson/LBG, GMA News