INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Cebu Philippines — A police officer surrendered to authorities a few hours after his car collided with a motorcycle being driven by a medical student on the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) in Talisay City, Cebu on Sunday, Oct. 29.
Erno Kevin Lisondra, a 33-year-old member of the Aviation Security Group assigned on Panglao Island, Bohol, voluntarily appeared before the Talisay Traffic Office a few hours after hitting Samuel Villanueva, a native of Taguig City and a medical student here in Cebu.
According to Jonathan Tumulak, chief of the City of Talisay Traffic Operations and Development Authority (CT-TODA), the policeman admitted he decided to leave the victim for fear of being accosted by the public.
“Lisondra claimed that he fled because he was afraid of the bystanders. So, before reporting to his unit, he left the scene and surrendered himself officially,” Tumulak said.
Lisondra’s vehicle collided with the motorcycle driven by Villanueva at around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday.
Lisondra said Villanueva was driving a motorcycle at a high speed, but Tumulak said the police officer was also at fault.
“Based on our CCTV footage, he [Lisondra] committed an infraction. He was in the outer lane. He just suddenly crossed when he reached the intersection. If you’re making a U-turn, you should be in the inner lane, and he was in the outer lane,” Tumulak explained.
Villanueva was reportedly in critical condition in a hospital, according to Tumulak.
At around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, CT-TODA received a report about an illegally parked vehicle on Burgos Street in Barangay Poblacion, Talisay City.
Upon inspection by CT-TODA personnel, they discovered that this vehicle was the one driven by Lisondra.
“We received a report of an illegally parked auto. So, my colleagues responded, and they noticed that the car’s side was damaged. Everyone is aware of what happened. We suspect that this is the vehicle. We will verify from the videos we have, but it’s positive that it’s the car of Lisondra,” Tumulak said.
Lisondra is currently detained at the Talisay City Police Station and will face charges of physical injury resulting in damage to property.