Hunt on for man who shot trike driver, student in Quezon City

It was Rolito Go and Jason Ivler all over again. Almost.

The police are tracking down a motorist who allegedly shot and wounded a tricycle driver and a pedestrian in a traffic altercation in Quezon City early Wednesday morning.

It all started when the still unidentified motorist, who was driving a white Mitsubishi van (UTA 657), erupted in road rage after the tricycle blocked his path at the corner of Kamias Road and K-H Street around 7:30 a.m. in Barangay (village) West Kamias, police said.

Senior Superintendent Michael Macapagal, Anonas substation commander, identified the victims as Marlon Cabunyag, 30, and Kyle Cuntapay, a 12-year-old high school student.

A check made by the Quezon City Police District with the Land Transportation Office revealed that the van was registered in the name of Diosdado Picar of 16 Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City.

Macapagal said the suspect’s van was then moving along Kamias Road toward EDSA while the tricycle was coming from Barangay Pinyahan going to Cubao when they crossed paths.

“The tricycle blocked the van’s path, which angered the suspect, and they had a heated exchange,” he said.

The suspect then drew a gun and fired at Cabunyag, hitting him just below the armpit. A stray bullet hit Cuntapay in the right leg as the boy was walking along Kamias Road on his way to school.

The two victims were in stable condition at East Avenue Medical Center at press time, Macapagal said.

The suspect drove off toward EDSA after the shooting.

The incident brought back memories of two cases that had offered high-profile examples of road rage behavior: that of businessman Rolito Go who was convicted of killing a La Salle student in San Juan in the 1990s and the more recent case of Filipino-American Jason Ivler, who is currently on trial for killing a son of a Malacañang official in November 2009.