Driver charged in C-5 crash that killed Fil-Am shuttler

Criminal charges were filed on Tuesday against the driver of the closed-door van that figured in a Pasig City accident that killed a Filipino-American badminton sensation and former varsity player of Ateneo de Manila University.

Traffic investigator PO3 Cristino Silayan said charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property were filed against Argie Biagtan, 32, in the Pasig City Prosecutor’s Office.

The van hit the rear of a Honda Civic driven by Karyn Cecilia Velez on C-5 Road around 12:10 a.m. Monday. Velez, 24, sustained severe body injuries and was rushed to Medical City, where she was pronounced dead about two hours later.

Jose Mari Velez Jr., the victim’s uncle and a lawyer, said his niece watched the FIBA Asia finals Sunday night between the Philippines and Iran at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. She might have been on her way home when the accident happened, he said.

Biagtan and his two companions in the van—James Bryan Hilomen and Valentin Candelaria—were rushed to Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City for treatment. Only Hilomen remained at the hospital as of Tuesday for a foot injury.

In their statements to the police, Biagtan and Candelaria said that it was Velez’s car that suddenly swerved from the northbound lane of the C-5 flyover and into the path of their closed-door van in the opposite lane.

A photo of the Honda Civic after the incident showed the rear part of the car completely destroyed.

Silayan conceded that since there were no other witnesses or closed-circuit television cameras in the area, it would be difficult for investigators to determine what really happened.

“Since someone died, of course we have to file the charges,” Silayan said.

Velez played for the women’s badminton team when she was studying at Ateneo. She had been travelling to Malaysia since she was 19 years old to improve her game, and was reportedly set to return to that country Sunday night to resume training but opted to stay to catch the Philippines-Iran basketball finals.

Her remains will be cremated at Arlington chapel on Araneta Avenue, Quezon City, at 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to Velez Jr.