The young heroes of Taal Rio John Abel, Maximino Alcantara III, both 22, and Darwin “Dudong” Lajara, 26, delivering relief goods to the victims of Taal volcano eruption at the evacuation center in San Jose, Batangas. Taal Volcano started to erupt on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, thousands of people in the Batangas province to evacuate.

On their way home, they got into this tragic car accident. The young men’s car crashed into a trailer truck as they were driving along the national highway in Banaybanay I, San Jose, Batangas, at around 1:30 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 14, according to the report.

Rio and Maximo were proclaimed dead on the spot, while Darwin, suffering physical injuries, was rushed to the nearest hospital, but was pronounced dead the following day, Wednesday, Jan. 15. Mitsubishi Lancer drove by Maximo, collided with the parked trailer truck, which was on its way through the gates of a feed mill.

Merril Patrick Morie Cobarrubias, a close friend of these three heroes, said “Napakabuting tao ng tatlong ‘to. Basta alam nilang kaya nila at may posibilidad silang tumulong kahit sa maliit na paraan hindi sila naghe-hesitate (They were really good people. They wouldn’t hesitate to help anyone if they could),” Merril tells The Manila Bulletin.

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