Child dies after being sideswiped by police car

MANILA, Philippines – A seven-year-old child was killed after being hit by a police patrol car in Antique early Thursday, a Philippine National Police official said.

Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., Western Visayas police director, said victim Jade Gepulgan died on the spot after she was struck by a patrol car driven by Police Officer 3 Mariano Anton along the town of Sebaste around 7:45 a.m.

Cruz Jr. said Anton of Pandan Police station was on his way to the prosecutor’s office in San Jose, Antique when the accident happened.

“Gepulgan,whose head hit the gutter following the incident, died on the spot,” Cruz Jr. said.

The family of the victim has decided not to file a case against Anton, but he was, nonetheless, placed under custody because the “investigation will still proceed to determine the administrative liability of PO3 Anton,” Inspector Jose Partisala, Pandan station chief said.

“They only seek for financial assistance for the burial of victim,” he added.