A truck helper died after being trapped for more than three hours inside the mangled cab of a trailer truck that crashed into a stalled trailer truck on the C5-Ortigas Flyover in Pasig City late Saturday night.

The collision occurred past 11 p.m. along the southbound lane of the flyover in Barangay Ugong.

The trailer truck was transporting soft drinks when it slammed into another trailer truck that had broken down on the roadway. 

The force of the impact crushed the front portion of the moving truck, pinning the helper inside.

Rescue teams spent hours extricating the victim from the wreckage. 

The helper was removed from the damaged vehicle only shortly after 2 a.m., Sunday.

The crash also scattered bottles of soft drinks across the road and left the truck's cab severely damaged. 

Authorities were able to separate the truck's front section from its trailer only at around 7 a.m.

The truck driver said that an Elf truck overtook his vehicle moments before the collision, preventing him from seeing the disabled trailer truck ahead.

Authorities took the driver into custody and are considering filing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property.

The accident forced the closure of the southbound lane of the C5-Ortigas Flyover for several hours, causing traffic disruptions on Sunday morning as clearing operations continued.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said the lane became passable at 10:30 a.m. after  flushing operations were completed. ###