Hyundai Elantra accident in Ayala Alabang village

[zap.FREEDOM]

I'm amazed at the insensitive comments at the other forums and news websites, these kids are about as old as your nephews and sons. I don't really care about the pictures, it must have been a terribly gruesome scene, you wouldn't want to see your sons and nephews in that state. Condolences to the families.

The kids were skateboarders, they're not the rich brats some think they were, just living the fast life as we were when we were kids. Drinking, driving, we're all guilty, even in our adult lives. Lets all consider ourselves lucky for still being here and surviving all our driving indiscretions.

Don't blame the kids, don't blame the parents, pray for them, I just can't imagine the pain they must be going through.

talagang pag-oras mo na, oras mo na, marami nang tao ang nadisgrasya yung iba pa nga mas grabe pa dyan pero hanggang ngayon buhay pa rin at nagddrive pa rin. RIP on the kids. Godspeed!

[vinj]

I'm amazed at the insensitive comments at the other forums and news websites, these kids are about as old as your nephews and sons. I don't really care about the pictures, it must have been a terribly gruesome scene, you wouldn't want to see your sons and nephews in that state. Condolences to the families.

The kids were skateboarders, they're not the rich brats some think they were, just living the fast life as we were when we were kids. Drinking, driving, we're all guilty, even in our adult lives. Lets all consider ourselves lucky for still being here and surviving all our driving indiscretions.

Don't blame the kids, don't blame the parents, pray for them, I just can't imagine the pain they must be going through.

I agree with your comments. I really feel for the parents, and never wish that kind of pain on anyone.

[shadow]

wasted lives... kawawa yung dad...
didn't you used to feel jealous over the kid who was able to bring a car in HS? I know I did.

nope! cuz I am that kid...

[renzo_d10]

nope! cuz I am that kid...

+1 paps.

Too short!

[vinj]

nope! cuz I am that kid...

Yeah same here... however it didn't make a difference to one's social status in school since a good number of students at the school i attended did bring cars once they were in 3rd and 4th year HS. Most were from middle class families so our cars would be your usual HS kid hand-me-down war car or 1.6L sedans. There were a handful who had the big guns of the day (Accord, Galant VR, Eclipse, BMW, Civic SiR, Evo) or naka set-up but bilang lang; karamihan stock yung mga tsikot. Mas sikat ka kung nasa banda ka, basketball player ka, or may van ka para sa mga gimmik to the mall after school to meet with HS girls. (mabuti nalang at may Nissan Vanette nuon si ermat) :D I'm sure in a school like DLSZ, a lot of the kids also have their own cars.

[MoonbeamTURBO]

Mas sikat ka kung nasa banda ka, basketball player ka, or may van ka para sa mga gimmik to the mall after school to meet with HS girls.

Hehehe ako puro van dala ko since 4th year HS hanggang ngayon 4th year college. Nung high school yung Urvan namin tapos nung college APV na. School bus tuloy ako ng block ko nung 1st-2nd year college ako hahaha! On the way lahat ng bahay ng mga sumasabay sa akin. Layo ng inuuwian ko eh.

Ito yata yung kwento sa akin ng kapatid ko. They were on their way home from a party. I really feel sorry for them, papasok na sana sila as frosh students this week. Sobrang sayang uumpisa palang talaga sila.

This is a reminder for us young drivers that we should be responsible when we are behind the wheel. Dati loko-loko din ako magmaneho pero ngayon defensive na ako. Hanggang ngayon kahit 5 years na ako nagmamaneho nagaaral parin ako paano mag drive ng maingat. Sad to say marami parin sa amin na hindi pa safe magmaneho. Nung pumunta kami ng Tagaytay napansin ko yung dalawa kong kaibigan parang naghahabulan at ang lapit nilang dalawa. Marami rin sa amin uuwi ng party nakainom at magmamaneho.

Hindi na din okay mag drive ng mabilis at mayabang. Nung mabilis ako mag drive nasira ko steering column ko dahil hindi ako nagbagal sa lubak. Full tank ko dati 4 days lang. Brakes ko napudpod agad nung 28,000 km lang mileage ko. Sa awa ng diyos hindi ako naaksidente nun.

[jdee12]

Sabagay, ako rin dumaan diyan. Pero once ko lang ginawa yun with an SiR when i was 1st year college. Pero after nung nabangga ako sa wall nung ng bbacking ako. Ayun defensive driving na talaga. Hindi ko na feel ang pag ddrive ng parang teenager talaga dati. Lalo na pag naalala ko lagi ang kwento ng physics teacher ko dati. About same accident na hindi na ma control ang car.
R.I.P. To those kids, sayang di nila talaga na enjoy having a car. Swerte nila dahil HS pa lang sila binigyan na agad sila.

[sm2by]

Reminds me of this accident that happened a couple of years ago...
Same scenario, Young Drivers, New Car, Speed, Early morning hours....

[Ry_Tower]

I hope rich or can afford families learn from this as well. Sayang byung buhay kung walang makukuhang aral. Lagi na lang kasi ganyan.

[KERSMcRae]

fb account of the father (of the 2 victims) * TGP. , message from their father posted on the page

TGP link:
http://www.topgear.com.ph/news/dad-o...ge-on-facebook

[tomboy]

Dati may ganyang stage din ako pero mabilis nawala. Narealize ko hindi naman ako bumbero bakit kailangan mabilis magdrive.

At simula nagkaroon ng commercial ang honda jazz tapos si the late pocholo ramirez nagdrive.......kinalimutan ko na si schumy.

[uls]

^^^

gawa ng batas na kailangan may runoff area (like gravel trap sa mga racetrack) or tire wall

[JohnM]

Yung 1.3 Laser namin less than 10 years butas na rear fender sa kalawang. Madali din nawalan ng pressure ang struts ng hatch. Pawis steering pa. Fond memories with that car. Learned to drive on it. Umiikot pa daw sa Davao with its second owner.

Crush ko din dati ang Telstar dahil sa liit ng grill nya. Next naman yung Cefiro na medyo rare.

Those were the days :D

[Verbl Kint]

Parents who give their 16-year olds Imprezas and Evos are just asking for it.

Even just civics, I can't count anymore howmany times have I've heard of teeners getting the worst in high-speed accidents.

[Skate]

Rest in peace Bruce Garcia, Josh Syyap, Tim Syyap, and Thomas Nguyen! You will be missed, see you in heaven brothers!

[renzo_d10]

^ Seems like you're a close friend of the deceased. Condolence bro.

[lazyfoot]

Weird, that night i was joyriding with my friends too... we were talking about me limiting my top speed when i have pax in the car since the added weight makes the car behave differently than you're usually used to and is usually the cause of accidents, It's like driving a different machine altogether and you usually notice that when you really need to brake or turn.

[zel.chikot]

The fatal car accident in Ayala Alabang over the weekend that killed four teenaged boys is currently the hottest topic in the local motoring community. And understandably so. Two of the victims were brothers. And Filipinos being very family-oriented, all of us want to commiserate with the bereaved parents.

In fact, many of us have something to say about the matter, as shown by the comments on our story yesterday about the father of the teenaged brothers posting a moving message on his Facebook wall. Obviously, most of the comments expressed sympathy. But a handful also pointed at another angle: What about the black Hyundai Elantra involved in the accident? Why did it fail to protect its occupants?

Here are some of the comments:

* Out of topic questions but I think these are relevant nonetheless: (1) How "fast" was the Elantra going prior to collision? (2) What was the variant of the Elantra? Were the airbags deployed? It made me wonder because Ayala Alabang Village has lots of humps in its roads. I have a friend who had a modified big-body Corolla that had a high-speed front collision, but wrecking only the front cut of the whole engine bay. Makes me wonder about this Car of the Year's overall vehicle integrity. - otto_meister

* I am still wondering how fast the car was going for it to be "cut in half," as some reports claim. In a subdivision as well, I find it difficult to go above 40-50kph especially with humps littered all over the place, so I just can't understand how it ended up this badly and why they ended up driving "that fast." If none of them were wearing seatbelts, I would have still expected those at the back to have a better chance of survival compared to those at the front, given that most likely, the engine bay collapsed inwards to the front passenger/driver compartment area. - 17Sphynx17

And then came one post from someone who claimed to have gotten his information from actual witnesses:

* I had dinner Sunday evening with relatives from AAVA who saw the actual accident scene and spoke to the guards. Nearly the whole thing was captured on the village CCTV cameras. This is what the news article isn't saying: The boys had come from a convenience store beside the village's basketball court, apparently to buy more alcohol. Acacia Avenue's humps are staggered, meaning they don't cross the entire width of the road, and the driver was observed (on CCTV) zigzagging around the humps, as if Acacia Ave was a slalom course, and picking up speed. By the time they got to the last, fateful set of humps, the car was doing (as calculated by village security personnel) about 120kph. The driver oversteered exiting the "slalom" and the car spun, hit the curb and went airborne.

Upon landing, the Elantra hit a concrete utility post SIDE-ON. The car was wrapped around the post and its roof had been pried open. The airbags didn't go off because the sensor which triggers the deployment of the airbags is in the bumper or within the first few inches of the car's front. The Elantra hit the post side-on, which didn't disturb the airbag sensor at all.

Lawyers will probably have a field day trying to pin the blame on Hyundai, but the truth is, airbag deployment simply doesn't work that way. I've seen (and photographed) at least one Hyundai in a frontal accident where BOTH airbags deployed properly. With all due respect and sympathy to the affected families, the car wasn't intoxicated or driving around the humps on its own.

The Car of the Year award doesn't necessarily mean the winning car can rip through a slalom course at extra-legal speeds. Even F1 cars, for all the gripping power in their tires and expertise in their drivers' hands, spin out of a corner when taken too fast. The laws of Physics have limits too, and were, sadly, among several laws broken that night. However, amidst this horrific tragedy, if this incident teaches parents to be more vigilant and young drivers to be more prudent, the loss of four young lives before last Sunday dawn will not be in vain. My condolences. Drive safely, always. - steve1221

For now, we don't know how accurate the above statements are. We will have to wait for the official result of the investigation for that. To be fair to the victims, here's another comment attesting to their good conduct:

* They're not doing a joyride. They were on the way home. I don't think they were under the influence. These guys kept it straight; they were actually elegant and reserved in person. I'm not sure where they were from, and I don't have the guts to ask (the father). R.I.P. Tim & Josh - best of friends and best of brothers. You may be sitting in the sidelines of church trying to avoid public eye, and yet you will be remembered fondly and constantly. - Gartlas P. Baudelaire

As in other fatal accidents in the past, we may never ever know the whole truth. Some will say we probably don't even have the right to know the truth--especially if knowing the truth will only add to the misery of the families left behind. Whatever the truth is, here's a thought that will always remain true: The best safety equipment is the one sitting in the driver's seat. No amount of crumple zones and antilock brakes and supplemental airbags and traction control can beat that.

Was the Hyundai Elantra to blame in the Ayala Alabang accident? - News | TopGear.com.ph

An unexpected death is a painful one. RIP.

[renzo_d10]

^ 120kph? Sa village? Parang hard to believe. but I agree with the concluding statement, best safety feature pa rin yung naka-upo sa driver's seat.

[IMm29]

^ 120kph? Sa village? Parang hard to believe. but I agree with the concluding statement, best safety feature pa rin yung naka-upo sa driver's seat.

Actually, there are portions of the main streets in Ayala Alabang (Madrigal Ave., Acacia Ave., Country Club Drive) where you could make 120 kph or perhaps more. Plus the hump layout in the village actually favors speed because only half of the road (one lane direction) has the hump, while the other half is wide open. This was supposedly to aid the ambulances rushing from the village clinic, allowing for them to accelerate quicker (since many intersections on the main roads have humps before and after the intersection).