Driver in hit-and-run arrested

Thanks to a concerned security official, the driver of the car that figured in a hit-and-run accident last week which killed Alexander Luistro—former barangay chairman of Ayao-Iyao in Lemery, Batangas—fell into the hands of authorities yesterday.

Rommel Barbers, 36, was arrested by members of the Makati Traffic Bureau (MTB) in  his house at Pio del Pilar, Makati City, and charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide at the city prosecutor’s office.

The MTB credited his arrest to Santiago Gacos, the security head of a building in the city,  who went to the bureau over the weekend to tell them that he had witnessed the accident.

Asked why he came forward, Gacos told the Inquirer: “I want to give justice to the victim of this unfortunate incident. I was just helping the family get through this.”

Gacos, who asked that his workplace be kept confidential, said that he was in a passenger jeepney in front of Barbers’ car when the accident happened last Wednesday.

“I had just boarded a jeep one block away from the crime scene in front of the Standard Chartered Building on Ayala Avenue when the incident happened. I saw the victim, who was in mid-stride, [get] hit by the car,” he added.

He said that Luistro, who died of severe head injuries and internal bleeding in the brain two days later, was thrown about five meters away due to the impact.

“All the passengers in the jeep, especially the women, gasped and were shocked when he was hit. I was also shocked  but my first instinct was to get the car’s plate number TAZ 379,” Gacos said.

However, he did not bother to find out what happened next as he saw many people helping the victim. On Saturday, one of the security guards under his supervision told him that the driver of the car remained unidentified.

“Without hesitation, I called up the MTB. [PO2 Marte Caesar P.] Bueno, the case investigator, immediately went to me and I voluntarily gave my sworn statement,” Gacos said.

Bueno, meanwhile, said that a check with the Land Transportation Office yielded Barbers’ name and his address.

“On Tuesday midnight, I started staking out Barbers’ house and when I confirmed he was there, I immediately asked for backup and we arrested him,” Bueno said.