12 killed in Philippines after passenger bus slams into vehicles at a toll booth

A speeding passenger bus slammed into a row of vehicles lined up at a highway toll booth Thursday in the northern Philippines, killing at least 12 people, including children, police said.

More than two dozen others were injured in the multiple-vehicle collision in Tarlac city, north of Manila, at a heavy travel time on May Day holiday, police said.

The bus driver, who was among the injured, was taken into custody and initially told investigators that he dozed off shortly before the crash, Tarlac police chief Lt. Col. Romel Santos told reporters.

The bus crashed into a van, which was lined up with three other vehicles at the toll booth. Ten of the dead, including children, were in the van, which was pinned between the wayward bus from behind and another car in front, police said.

A couple died in a car in the collisions that happened around midday in the scorching summer heat, police said, adding that many of the injured were bus passengers.

Vehicular accidents are common in the Philippines because of poor enforcement of safety and traffic regulations, faulty vehicles and reckless driving.

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