A seven-year-old boy was killed along with his father while his mother and eight-year-old brother were injured when the motorcycle they were all piled on figured in a head-on collision with a passenger jeepney in Pasig City yesterday.
Justin Formilles died on the spot after his unprotected head hit one of the wheels of the jeepney, which dragged his body for several meters before it came to a complete stop.
His mother, Gemma Orbizo Darrios, and brother Viance were rushed to separate hospitals where they were reported to be out of danger.
His father, 36-year-old Simporiano Formilles, was initially listed in critical condition at Pasig City General Hospital but he died later in the day due to severe head injuries, said traffic investigator SPO1 Carlito
Guillarte.
Ronald Morelos of the Pasig government’s Traffic Parking and Management Office (TPMO) said the accident occurred on East Bank Road in Barangay (village) Sta. Lucia at 3:30 a.m. Monday.
Based on the initial investigation conducted by authorities, the victims were on their way to Cainta in Rizal province on a motorcycle without license plates being driven by Simporiano.
Of the four, only the adults were wearing helmets at the time of the accident.
Darrios told investigators that at one point, she and her live-in partner started arguing about his work.
As they were fighting, Formilles suddenly swerved to the opposite lane in an attempt to overtake the vehicle in front of him.
As he did so, the motorcycle collided head-on with a passenger jeepney which was racing with another jeepney.
Joel Gardiola, team leader of one of the TPMO’s mobile units which rushed to the scene, said that Formilles hit a Binangonan-Edsa-Shaw passenger jeepney with plate number DFY 490.
Due to the impact, the victims were all thrown off the motorcycle while the still unidentified jeepney driver fled on foot.
Morelos said that authorities were still trying to identify the jeepney driver through his operator.
The driver, however, faces charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and multiple physical injuries.
Originally posted: 3:04 pm | Monday, April 1st, 2013