Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Police car, mover collide; 2 cops injured in mishap
A PRIME mover on its way to Talisay City collided with a patrol car at the South Road Properties (SRP) yesterday morning, crushing the police vehicle and seriously wounding two policemen onboard.
The collision was so violent that the Innova patrol car was dragged 21 meters from the point of impact, before it got thrown some 8.64 meters from the truck.
The truck left an imprint of its plate number (MCK-900) on the left side of the Innova’s body. An investigator suspects the truck was overspeeding.
Had it not been for the seawall, the Innova would have plunged into the sea.
The accident seriously injured the two policemen from the Mobile Patrol Group who were on their way to the city proper after a conducting roving patrol.
Truck driver Joseph Romano and his companion were unhurt. Romano immediately surrendered to the Mambaling Police Station and was later taken to the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) office.
SPO1 Nelson Jayme of the Traffic Police Section identified the two injured policemen as PO1 Raymund Aballe, the van driver who is still on his field training program, and 35-year-old PO2 Herbert Solon, who occupied the front seat.
Like Schumacher
The two policemen were taken to a private hospital by employees of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District, who were at the SRP when the accident happened.
Acting Cebu City Police Director Patrocinio Comendador, who ran to the crime scene and visited the two policemen at the Chong Hua Hospital, said the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 and the Cebu City Government through Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. will help shoulder the hospital bills.
Comendador said the two policemen are conscious but under observation. Aballe also had to undergo an X-ray examination and CT scan because of his head injury.
Mayor Osmeña assured that the City Government will help the victims, but did not hide his dismay when he found out that they were the ones driving the police car.
“I was surprised. Grabe ni atong mga drivers. They think they’re Michael Schumacher. Every week, some Innovas get damaged, nonstop. I think in six more months we will have no more Innovas. Old novas na lang,” he said.
But upon learning that policemen, not civilians, were driving the new police cars, the mayor called up Councilor Pe right away.
P25M purchase
“Why are policemen driving the Innovas? Change them! My God! These policemen. You get them from other places. We don’t have extra drivers? Seasoned drivers, but not the old drivers,” the mayor told Pe on his mobile phone.
He ordered the councilor to pull out civilian drivers from other departments because the City cannot hire new ones with the election ban in effect.
The City spent P24.5 million to buy 30 Toyota Innovas for the police in time for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit last month.
Osmeña said 10 of the Innovas will go to some city councilors who want to change their cars (Mitsubishi Adventure), then the cars previously assigned to the councilors will be turned over to the City’s extension offices like the Register of Deeds.
This is the second Innova so far damaged since their delivery last October, said Pe.
Last December, the mayor recalled all 10 new cars he issued to the police following an accident involving a policeman who used one unit to go to a motel.
In yesterday’s accident, truck driver Romano of Ngosiok Marketing said he was traveling near the intersection of the South Coastal Road and the Mambaling access road when the Innova suddenly came out of the access road.
Speeding
The prime mover was carrying two empty 20-footer container vans.
Romano said he was driving at 40 kilometers per hour (kph) when he spotted the Innova. He said he tried stepping on the brakes and swerving to the opposite lane to avoid the police vehicle.
SPO1 Nelson Jayme, the investigator assigned to the incident, said the prime mover was traveling on the South Coastal Road, heading to Talisay City. Upon reaching the intersection, Romano allegedly failed to slow down and collided with the passing Innova van.
Jayme told Sun.Star Cebu the maximum speed at the South Coastal Road is 80 kph and a minimum of five kph.
In approaching an intersection, Jayme said, all drivers are mandated to slow down, which Romano failed to do.
Skid marks found at the scene, Jayme said, were one of the indicators the truck was overspeeding.
Romano will be charged with reckless imprudence resulting to serious physical injuries and damage to property.
SRP manager Nigel Paul Villarete, who went to the area, said the accident prompted him to instruct Citom executive officer Arnel Tancinco to deploy enforcers to the area and apprehend traffic violators. (JST/RCT/GAC)
