Serious Injuries Of Three Young Men Found In The Same Location

April 13,2010
Serious Injuries Of Three Young Men Found In The Same Location
By Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-How come that three motorcycle –riding young men in their 20s who have sustained serious injuries on their legs were found to have suffered from bone fractures in the same location?
No one can explain rightly how did it happen. But it really did happen and it’s a rare occurrence that can possibly be estimated to happen in just one in every 200 motorcycle accidents.
This happened on one recent Wednesday at about 4:00p.m. in brgy. Sap-ang in the municipality of Silago.
As the motorcycle driver negotiated on a descending road after a visit to his grand-aunt’s one-hectare farm, a black-colored dog suddenly crossed the street. Driving in high speed, the driver hit the dog that shrieked in great pain. And then all of them, the driver and his two-backriders, were automatically thrown away down the nearby canal.
The driver-victim was identified as Julito Nolasco Sermillas, 23 years old, single.He was a first year high school drop-out of the Comprehensive High School in Agusan Del Sur.He is a resident of a 9-year-old city of Bayugan, Agusan Del Sur.At the time of the accident he was temporarily residing together with his father in Anahawan town.
He said he came for a visit to his relatives in Silago which is the hometown of his father. His backriders-friends were identified as Ronel Lucero Makiling, 22 years old, single.He is also an elementary school drop-out in his place. He is a resident of brgy. Sap-ang.
The other one was identified as Arnel Lucero Makililng, 21 years old, single.He is also an elementary drop-out of the same place. The two of them are siblings. The three of them have only slight bruises in their bodies.
In an interview with LSDE the driver-victim narrated that they came from the more a hectare farm of his grand-aunt (Sherlita Dizon Sermillas, 69 years old) that was planted to coffee and acacia mangium trees. He said they were there for a visit. The location of the farm is one or more kilometer away from brgy. Sap-ang.
The younger Sermillas said that while he was negotiating the descending portion of the road in going back to the aforesaid barangay,a black-colored dog suddenly crossed the road. He said he did not slow down his speed but hit the dog.
He said the dog shrieked in great pain and they were thrown away down the canal adjacent to the road they were passing by.
The driver confessed that the three of them have lost consciousness and regained it only when they were already at the hospital.
He said he was informed that it was the folks in the neighborhood who brought them to the Anahawan District Hospital which is about 36 kilometers away from Silago.
He said Dr.Kahoy (he forgot the name of the doctor), their attending physician at the hospital, has conducted bone x-rays for their injuries on their left legs where the excruciating pain were mostly felt.
X-ray result showed that all of the victims have bone fractures above their knees.Sermillas intimated that before his injured left leg was wrapped with huge brown-colored bandage, a 5-kilo weight of stone was suspended over it to gradually pulled it to restore the normality of alignment of his damaged bone.
The interviewee also revealed that they’ve stayed at the Anahawan hospital for 10 days before they were finally brought at the provincial hospital here.
When asked why it took so long to transfer them here, he explained that his father and the parents of his two injured brothers were approaching Silago Mayor Manuel Labrador for assistance.
He said Mayor Labrador contacted Congressman Roger Mercado thru a cellphone call asking for his assistance that the three of them could be admitted at the provincial hospital for further treatment. Anahawan hospital, it was learned, lacks the necessary facilities and cannot perform bone operation.
Sermillas further confided that the hospital would provide them with free bone surgery. And that their respective parents are still looking where to lend the money to buy the stainless steel. This thing is needed as support base for their bone surgeries to be performed by a resident Orthopedic Surgeon Dr.Elpidio Sibud.
He divulged that the total cost of the stainless steel for the three of them is P75, 000.00.(Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)