By Jonas Reyes
Copyright tribune
A 56-year-old businessman died after the gray Nissan Navara pickup truck he was driving lost control and fell from the PNR Bridge into a river at Barangay Salaan in the town of Mangaldan, Pangasinan, on 15 September 2025.According to the Mangaldan Municipal Police Station, the fatality, Luis L. Gabriel Jr., was a resident of nearby Barangay Malabago.The report stated that the victim was rushed to Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) Annex in Dagupan City for urgent medical attention but was pronounced dead on arrival.Netizens were up in arms over the late response of the rescue teams, citing that the incident happened around 11:45 a.m., but the responding team arrived at the scene around 1:35 p.m.A niece of the victim even stated that around ₱300,000 worth of cash was stolen from her uncle during the “rescue” operation, citing, “Hindi na nasagip uncle ko, ninakawan pa siya. Mahigit 300k ang nawalang pera niya.”She added that based on the CCTV footage, there were eyewitnesses who saw the vehicle fall into the river but opted to go live. “Alam ko sobrang hirap nung sitwasyon pero kung may tumulong sana agad, baka kaya pa.. baka… sana,” she added.She also said, “Kung sino pa yung taong maraming tinulungan, sa huli hindi siya natulungan. I’ll miss you uncle!”The victim, who owned Gabriel Auto Supply and had a farm in Mangaldan, was renowned for being a generous person who helped many people not only in Pangasinan but in other provinces as well.
