Four Pinoys killed in Florida road accident

Four Filipinos in Florida state in the US were killed Wednesday in a road accident, reports said.

A report on the Florida-based publication Sun-Sentinel identified the fatalities as driver Dennis Ryan Rinon Ortiz, 33; Albertson Anthony Almase, 31; Kristina A. Almase, 26; and Lily Marie Azarcon, 26.

The report, citing information from the Florida Highway Patrol, said the victims were killed when their car was rammed by another vehicle, driven by 25-year-old Willie Dumel, who survived the accident.

Dumel was allegedly traveling north in Interstate 95's southbound lanes in his 2013 Chevrolet Suburban SUV and crashing just north of Ives Dairy Road into the victims' 2013 Kia Sorento.

A separate report in US-based NBC News said Ortiz was driving a minivan that was in the southbound lanes of Interstate 95 in northeast Miami-Dade when Dumel's SUV heading north crashed head-on into the car.

The Sun-Sentinel cited a family friend of Ortiz's who said the four fatalities were from the Philippines. It said Ortiz was a real estate agent at a family-owned company who was scheduled to return to the Philippines this April.

The Almases, meanwhile, were siblings and were both affiliated with the US military.

NBC News said the Almase siblings picked up Ortiz and Azarcon when the two flew into Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday night.

The Sun-Sentinel said the State Attorney's Office in Miami-Dade County has been consulting with the Florida Highway Patrol about possible charges against Dumel.

The publication also noted that Dumel's license has been suspended since August 2010, and in that same year was sentenced to two years' probation for aggravated stalking and aggravated assault.

The Florida Highway Patrol group will also investigate if police also pursued Dumel onto Interstate 95, according to the Sun-Sentinel. — Gian Geronimo/KBK, GMA News

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