STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan — A tragic afternoon commute ended in a fatality after a 27-year-old woman was run over and killed by a passenger bus along the national highway in Barangay Maticmatic, Sta. Barbara.

The incident, which occurred shortly after 5:00 PM on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, has left a local family devastated and ignited renewed calls for highway safety.

According to preliminary investigations conducted by the Sta. Barbara Police Station, the victim was traveling as a back rider (passenger) on a motorcycle driven by a female friend.

As they navigated the national highway, the motorcycle rider attempted to overtake a jeepney ahead of them. The maneuver forced the motorcycle into the opposite lane—directly into the path of an oncoming passenger bus.

Police Captain Joemar Borja, deputy chief of the Sta. Barbara Police Station, detailed the sequence of events: "This motorcycle noticed a jeepney in front of them and overtook it, moving left into the inner lane where they failed to notice an oncoming bus. Based on the investigation, the bus clipped the motorcycle, causing the back rider to be thrown off."

The force of the initial side-swipe threw the 27-year-old passenger onto the asphalt, where she was immediately run over by the heavy passenger bus. She did not survive the impact.

The driver of the motorcycle, who was a close friend of the victim, survived the initial collision but sustained various injuries. Emergency responders rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she is currently recovering and receiving medical treatment.

The sudden loss has deeply shaken the victim's family, who described her as a remarkably kind and caring individual. Mourning relatives have publicly come forward demanding a full investigation and swift justice for her untimely death.

Local traffic investigators remain on the scene to fully reconstruct the timeline, review potential dash cam or CCTV footage, and determine the exact legal liabilities of both the bus driver and the surviving motorcyclist.