THE parents of the two-year-old toddler who was killed in a road accident last week along San Pedro Street in Barangay 3-A, Davao City, dropped the homicide case they filed earlier against the driver.
In an interview with San Pedro Police Station commander Police Chief Inspector Ramil Macarampat on Thursday, May 17, he said the parent, identified as Loviege Pangantihon, has already filed an affidavit of desistance on Tuesday, May 15, citing that they are no longer interested to pursue the case against the driver of Davao Security and Investigation Agency, Inc. (Dasia).
Authorities are waiting for the court’s ruling on the case of Reckless Imprudence Resulting to Homicide against the suspect identified as Gregorio Antonio Vito Jr., 23, so that they can release him.
When asked about the dismissal, Macarampat said the parents pitied the driver considering that it was an accident.
“Disgrasya lang daw and naluoy pud sila sa driver maong nisugot sila sa settlement (It was an accident and they pitied the driver. They just agreed with the settlement),” he added.
Once the dismissal order of the case has already been released, the court will then issue a release order for the offender.
It can be recalled that on May 10, the victim was killed after he was rolled over by an armored car while he and his mother were crossing the pedestrian lane on San Pedro Street. The driver said he thought the two had completely crossed the street.
A video of the incident had gone viral online which showed that the vehicle was moving slowly while waiting for the mother and the kid to finally cross. The mother was holding her son but the child suddenly freed from his mother's hand and backtracked. It was too late when the mother noticed her son ran off.
Due to the limited view of the armored car, the driver did not see the boy and continued with his driving. He was apologetic about the incident and asked for the parents' forgiveness.
The driver is still under the San Pedro police custody pending court’s decision.