Third Pinoy worker in Saipan car crash dies

SUSUPE, Saipan – The third overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in an early Sunday morning car crash in the US island of Saipan died at the hospital shortly before 1 a.m. on Monday. Rose Ann Bautista died at the Commonwealth Health Center at 12:40 a.m. on Monday, a day after she was brought to the hospital’s intensive care unit for severe injuries sustained in a car crash. Bautista was in the back seat of the car when it slammed into a utility pole at past 2 a.m. on Sunday. The driver of the Ford sedan, Haidee Garcia, died about an hour after she was rushed to the hospital shortly after the accident. She worked as a waitress at Godfather’s Bar. The passenger in the front of the car identified as Ronald Carreon of Mandaluyong died on the spot. Carreon, 35, came to Saipan more than three years ago to work as a computer technician at the Marianas Variety newspaper before moving to I-Teck. Carreon's body will be brought home to the Philippines later this week, according to friends. Another passenger, Joel Tagalikud, 30, remains at the hospital for injuries to the mouth and different parts of the body but is not in critical condition. Tagalikud is a guitarist of the band Fatjoy Slim. The four just came from Club V, a popular dance and music club on Saipan, when the accident happened. Bautista, Garcia, Carreon and Tagalikud are OFWs on Saipan, the capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) where some 10,000 Filipinos and Filipino-Americans work and live. The Filipino community on Saipan has been shocked to hear the news about the tragic loss of three lives. The Department of Public Safety said the car was headed north when it hit a telephone pole at the intersection across from Saipan World Resort and the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library. The strong impact wrecked the car and caused the utility pole to fall to the ground. Police said the four were not wearing seatbelts as all of them were thrown out of the car as a result of the crash. Alcohol and speed are reportedly factors in the accident. The case is still under investigation. - GMANews.TV