THE bus driver who was involved in the fatal head-on crash last Friday, May 31, was released after three-day detention since the family of the victims did not file charges.
Lieutenant Colonel Nolan Raquid, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Traffic Group head, said Wednesday, June 5, the families of the two women who died in a vehicle collision did not pursue the case.
“Released na last Monday pa dahil hindi pa nag file ng kaso ang relatives ng mga namatay until today [June 5),” he said.
The bus driver of Yutong Bus bearing MV file number 1508-1014638, owned by Davao Metro Shuttle Corporation, was driven by Ricky Aban Deloso, 42, resident of Purok Mauswagon, Mabini, Comval Province.
The bus collided with a Mazda sedan driven and owned by Melody Ann Sotelo Ybañez, 27, who was with Janilou Faye Rosales, 21, as her passenger. The vehicle drifted 22 meters away from the probable point of impact. The two women were declared dead-on-the spot.
As of Wednesday, they could not determine yet the cause of the accident.
“We can only speculate na lasing or nakatulog ang driver. Hindi na namin na-dig up kung driver error ba or mechanical error kasi dead on the spot. Kung sakaling mechanical error man, kailangan po natin ng investigator na expert sa ganoong field para credible ang kanyang findings,” Raquid said.
The dash cam footage shows that the bus was traveling within the speed limit from McArthur Highway heading towards Eco West Drive. The car, which was traveling from Eco West Drive towards McArthur Highway, suddenly appeared in front of the bus and hit its bumper.
After the incident, the driver of the bus was temporarily held for further investigation but was released just this week.
Raquid also explained their protocol why the driver was detained despite the video showing that the bus driver was traversing at a normal speed and on the right lane when the road accident happened.
“Kaya po siya temporarily na-detain kasi na involve po siya in a vehicular collision resulting to homicide and there is an ongoing investigation. Ang korte na po ang mag re-resolve kung sino may kasalanan. Kahit may CCTV recording po na iprinisinta, may proseso na kailangang daanan para pwede siya gamiting ebidensya particularly through the anti-cybercrime unit na syang nakatalaga mag extract ng cctv recordings and validate its authenticity,” Raquid said. (JCR)