A Ford Everest tore through a metal barrier at the west departure entrance of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 around 8 a.m. on May 4, 2025. Six people were hit, including two children. Two of them died at the scene and four were hurt.
The Daily Tribune identified the dead as a five-year-old girl and 28-year-old Dearick Keo Faustino. Other accounts differ on the details: the Department of Transportation put the man’s age at 29, and Fox News noted that officials disagreed on whether the girl was four or five.
What the driver told police
The driver, 47-year-old Leo Sinlao Gonzales, was taken into police custody. The Tribune reported that he panicked after a sedan cut in front of him and pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. New NAIA Infra Corp. described the SUV as parked near the entrance before it “accelerated suddenly, breaching the railing and hitting people on the walkway.”
Investigators from the police, airport security and the Department of Transportation went through CCTV footage. It suggested Gonzales was dropping off a passenger, which pointed away from any deliberate act. Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon called the crash “unintentional” on the strength of that early footage, though the inquiry stayed open.
The Land Transportation Office suspended Gonzales’ license for 90 days and issued a show-cause order. He also underwent drug testing.
Aftermath
Ramon S. Ang, president of the airport operator, promised to pay the injured victims’ medical bills and give financial help to the families of the dead. The operator urged the public to “wait for verified updates” and to stop sharing graphic images circulating online.
The wider road record is grim. The Philippine Statistics Authority counted 12,241 road deaths in 2022, and only days before the airport crash a bus accident on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway killed 12 people, six of them children. Senator Grace Poe renewed her call for an independent Philippine Transportation Safety Board covering every transport mode.
Sources
- SUV kills 2 at NAIA (Daily Tribune)
- Vehicular accident at NAIA Terminal 1 leaves two dead, four injured (Aviation Updates Philippines)
- Car crash at airport in the Philippines kills people including young girl (Fox News)
