Vda. de BATACLAN v.

MEDINA
Bus turned turtle early morning, gasoline leaked. People coming to aid brought torches, burned the bus
killing four survivors. Bus company liable.

No. L-10126 October 22, 1957 Montemayor, J.

Chris Nuevo Law110 – Crim Group 2

FACTS
• 12am: bus of Medina Transportation left Cavite on the way to Pasay
• 2am: bus was in Cavite, one of the front tires burst; bus zig-zagged until it fell into a
canal and turned turtle
• Four passengers could not get out of the bus, cried for help
• Attempts to rescue them failed
• After half an hour, 10 men came, one of them carrying a lighted torch made of bamboo
with a wick, fueled with petroleum
• Almost immediately after they approached the bus, fierce fire started, burning the bus
and the four trapped inside it
• Widow Salud Villanueva of Bataclan brought suit against Medina Transportation

ISSUES/HELD
I. WON defendant responsible for death of passengers. // Yes, responsible because of
negligence.

RATIONALE
I. Negligence.
a. Civil Code provides for responsibility of common carrier to its passengers and
their goods; degree of diligence required is extraordinary
b. There was negligence on the part of defendant, through his agent (the driver)
because:
i. Bus was speeding at the time the tire blew out
ii. Driver must have applied brakes in order to stop the bus, but because of
the velocity of the bus, its momentum carried it over a distance of 150m
before it fell into the canal
c. Proximate cause is not the fire because, from the circumstances there was a
natural and continuous sequence:
i. The leaking of the gasoline from the tank was not unnatural or
unexpected
ii. Coming of the men with lighted torch was in response for help
iii. Rescuers had to carry a light with them because it was dark
iv. Natural that rescuers approach the oveturned vehicle to extend aid
d. Burning of the bus can also be attributed to negligence of carrier:
i. Driver should and must have known that in which the overturned was,
 gasoline could have leaked, but did not caution the rescuers
ii. Owner of bus has been telling the driver to change the tires, but he did not
iii. Driver drove the bus negligently, resulting in the death of four and
physical injuries to others