Watch out! Kabaong on the NLEX highway

IMAGINE this: you are on your way home. It is a typical night if not quite irritating because of the traffic that moves in a slow and steady crawl. 

But then, something unexpected happens— up ahead, a commotion, a strange sight blocking the road. As you inch closer, your eyes widen as you try to get a grasp of what you just saw.

You got closed and suspicion is confirmed. 

There, in the middle of the highway, are not one but two coffins.

It might sound like something straight out of a horror film, but for Noel Luartes and the other drivers on January 21, 2025, it was an eerie reality. Two coffins were seen on the southbound lane of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) that evening.

The bizarre sight caused quite a traffic jam as it blocked two of the lanes. 

According to Noel, the motorist who uploaded the video on Facebook, they were on their way home from Pampanga to Pulilan, Bulacan when they saw the coffins. 

“Nagbe-brake na ‘yung mga sasakyan tapos tinitingnan namin bakit ba. Sabi po ng anak ko ‘may nalaglag daddy mukhang may nalaglag’ tapos pagdating namin doon sa area na ‘yon may ataol na may kabaong na doon. Vinideohan na ng anak ko,” he said. 

(The cars were already braking, and we were wondering why. My child said, ‘Daddy, something fell, it looks like something fell.’ Then, when we reached that area, we saw a coffin there. My child started recording it.)

But there was a logical explanation behind the macabre placement of the coffins in the middle of the road. 

The coffins were being transported from Pampanga to Marikina in a closed van when they suddenly fell out, striking the bumper of an SUV that was closely following. It was the real horror in the incident. 

The SUV driver immediately contacted NLEX Hotline to respond to the scene. 

“Pagkahulog po nakaiwas po talaga ako pero feeling ko ‘yung debris po nung nahulog na kabaong tumama rin sa grille ko kaya po siya nasira,” said the SUV driver. 

(“When it fell, I was able to avoid it, but I feel like the debris from the fallen coffin hit my grille, which is why it got damaged.”)

The two parties came into an agreement to pay for the damage caused on the SUV. 

Meanwhile, the NLEX administration has yet to comment on the incident.