MANILA, Philippines?When he woke up on Friday morning, the first thing actor Richard Gutierrez did was to apologize to his mother, Annabelle Rama.

Gutierrez met a car accident in Cavite earlier that day.

Gutierrez, who was behind the wheel, was injured, along with his assistant Jorce Mascora. But his other assistant, Nomar Pardo, died in the road mishap.

Senior. Supt. Jonathan Miano, Cavite police provincial director, said Gutierrez and his two companions were traversing the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road in Barangay Puting Kahoy in Silang, Cavite, at around 1:30 a.m. when they accidentally hit an electrical post.

Supt. Danilo Buentipo, Silang police chief, said that part of the road was curved and dark.

?They probably just did not see it (the electrical post),? he said.

In a phone interview, Rama, who was keeping vigil in her son?s room in Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa, told the Inquirer that Gutierrez said sorry to her.

?I told Richard to bring a driver with him to Cavite,? Rama said. ?I knew he was tired from all his show biz commitments, but he insisted on driving the car himself.?

Gutierrez had just finished taping for his nightly action series ?Zorro? and shot a commercial for a forthcoming soap opera near Cavite.

Rama said her son is fine and was resting at the time of the interview.

?A wound above his eyebrow, on his forehead, was stitched and there were glass shards on his face, but he is okay,? she said. ?His face wasn?t damaged at all.?

She said Gutierrez is raring to go back to work. ?But I told him, he needs to rest first.?

She said that Gutierrez could check out of the hospital after a day. ?He just needs to undergo a few tests.?

Suddenly speaking in a hushed tone, Rama said that Gutierrez was still unaware of the death of Pardo.

?He kept asking me about Nomar. He told me to visit Nomar in a Cavite hospital. I haven?t told him about Nomar?s death yet. I don?t want him to worry. Maybe, I?ll tell him later when he wakes up,? she noted.

She said Pardo?s family was already informed of the bad news. With a report by Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon