A prominent doctor was burned to death after his sedan was bumped by a racing passenger bus along the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in front of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, before dawn Tuesday.

Charred to death was Dr. Francisco Moreno Sarabia, who belongs to the Sarabia clan of optometrists and ophthalmologists. Sarabia died after being pinned inside his burning old Mercedes Benz model.

A radio dzMM report said Sarabia was cruising along EDSA in front of Camp Aguinaldo when his car's rear was bumped by a speeding Joanna Jess bus (TYG-660) between 3:00 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.

Police said that based on the accounts of witnesses, Sarabia's car was following a bus marked "Commuter Bus" with plate number TXE-812, when it's rear was hit by the Joanna Jess bus, which was reportedly racing with another Joanna Jess bus with plate number TYF 860.

Traffic policemen said the gasoline tank of Sarabia's car could have exploded due to the impact.

Rescuers were able to pluck out Sarabia's doctor companion, initially named as Henny Garcia, from the burning vehicle. Sarabia's companion has been declared safe by doctors at the East Avenue Medical Center.

By the time the rescuers returned for Sarabia, his body was already charred by the fire, which also totally burned down his car. Investigators said Sarabia fainted after his legs were cut after the collision.

Two bus passengers identified as Salvador de Guzman and Lerentino Divino were hurt during the collision.

Traffic policemen said a bus driver identified as Margarito Madrid was responsible for the freak accident. The driver fled the scene to evade arrest, but later decided to surrender to the Quezon City Police District headquarters in Camp Caringal.