Highway Crash Leaves One Truck Burned and Two Others Wrecked

A late-night traffic accident along the Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway on Sunday left one pickup truck completely destroyed by fire and two others extensively damaged.  The incident occurred shortly after eleven-thirty p.m. between thirty-seven and thirty-eight miles, where Independence Police responded to reports of a collision.  Upon arrival, officers observed a black Ford Ranger pickup engulfed in flames in the middle of the highway. The vehicle was being driven by forty-nine-year-old Remegio Chan, a security guard of Seine Bight Village.

A short distance away, police found a 1998 black Toyota Tacoma pickup on its side with significant front-end damage. That vehicle was driven by sixty-six-year-old David Gordon of Independence Village.  Further from the scene, a green Ford F-150 pickup was discovered off the highway in nearby bushes. It was being driven by forty-five-year-old Jereen Bonilla, a teacher of Bella Vista Village, who was traveling with her fifteen-year-old daughter at the time.  Initial investigations reveal that Bonilla was driving toward Bella Vista when a vehicle behind her attempted to overtake and collided with an oncoming vehicle. The impact caused her pickup to be struck on the driver’s side, forcing it off the road.  Chan reportedly complained of chest pain, pain to his right foot, and an open wound to his right hand, while Gordon also reported chest pain. Bonilla and her daughter escaped without injuries.  The Ford Ranger was completely destroyed by fire. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the accident are ongoing.