Motorists shocked by 2 coffins in middle of NLEX, 1 car damaged

Motorists along the North Luzon Expressway on Tuesday evening were alarmed after they saw two white coffins occupying the southbound lane of the busy highway, one of which damaged a sports utility vehicle. 

According to James Agustin’s report in 24 Oras on Wednesday, the two empty caskets accidentally fell from a closed van at around 7 p.m. at the viaduct portion of NLEX near the Pulilan exit. The van came from Pampanga and was en route to make a delivery in Marikina City. 

"Nakakatakot naman iyan (That's pretty scary)," said one motorist in a video that showed cars avoiding the coffins which occupied two lanes of the expressway.

"Nagbe-brake na 'yung mga sasakyan tapons tinitingnan namin bakit ba? Sabi po ng anak ko 'may nalaglag, daddy. Mukhang may nalaglag.' Tapos pagdating namin doon sa area na 'yon may ataul na, may kabaong na doon," said motorist Noel Luartes whose son took a video of the incident.

("The other cars were braking and we were wondering why? My son said, 'something fell out, daddy. Looks like something fell out.' When we reached the area there were coffins on the road.")

One of the coffins struck the bumper of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) that was behind the closed van. The SUV driver sought assistance from NLEX authorities who responded to the incident.

“Pagkahulog po, nakaiwas po talaga ako pero feeling ko ‘yung debris po nung nahulog na kabaong tumama sa grille ko po kaya po siya nasira,” the SUV driver said.

("After one of the coffins fell, I tried to swerve to avoid it but the debris hit my grille, damaging it.")

The two coffins were immediately cleared from the road to avoid further accidents. Meanwhile, the two parties agreed on compensation for the damaged SUV. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News