MetroBriefs

Cops looking for driver

Authorities are looking for the driver of a car who hit a 70-year-old woman and left her injured in Mandaluyong City yesterday morning. The victim was identified as Segundina Cruz, a widow and resident of Barangay Maybunga in Pasig City. Inspector Renato Ubalde, chief of Mandaluyong’s traffic enforcement unit, said Cruz was crossing the pedestrian lane on Nuevo de Pebrero Street in Barangay (village) Mauway at around 7 a.m. when a speeding red Mitsubishi Lancer with plate number RJG 265 struck her. The driver of the vehicle sped off without stopping to check on the victim, Ubalde said. Onlookers managed to jot down the vehicle’s plate number and take the victim to Rizal Medical Center for treatment. “She sustained multiple injuries from the accident but we still have no idea if she is in critical condition or not,” Ubalde told the Inquirer over the phone. Ubalde said that once identified, the driver would be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries at the city prosecutor’s office. Niña Calleja

Hike in crimes seen

A northern Police District (NPD) official warned the public yesterday against a hike in crimes in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) area during the rainy season. Senior Superintendent Wilson Amper, NPD deputy chief of operations, said that motorists and commuters should be “more cautious” on the road since “historical data” showed that criminals were “more emboldened” to strike when it rains. “The general trend in the Camanava area is that crime incidence increases during the bad weather for some reason,” Amper told the Inquirer. The official made the statement as Tropical Depression “Egay” was expected to leave the country’s area of responsibility only to be followed by the entry of a low pressure area. Amper said that although there were no studies that could pinpoint exactly what it was that made criminals more active during bad weather, he said that statistics seemed to suggest that the rain, which causes floods, made people even hungrier. “People usually incur more debts during the rainy season. This could probably be why robbery, theft and physical injuries cases go up in the area,” Amper said. Kristine Felisse Mangunay