8-year-old boy hurt by speeding car in Alegria town

CEBU, Philippines - An eight-year-old boy was injured after he was hit by a speeding Toyota Hilux tailing a bank’s armored car in Barangay Poblacion, Alegria town, last Friday morning.

The boy, Adrian Cardona, is now recuperating at a hospital in Cebu City.

PO1 Jupiter Elarcoza said the victim was crossing the road when the white Toyota Hilux with license plate numbers YGE-310, driven by Joseph Faciol, 30, hit him around 8:30 a.m. last Friday.

Police found out that the car was registered in the name of Land Bank of the Philippines Leasing Corp. and was then a convoy vehicle of the LBP armored car.

Faciol, a resident of Barangay Tisa, Cebu City, also possessed a professional driver’s license.

The armored car, with the LBP-Carcar City branch manager aboard, was on its way to Ginatilan town for the pay-out of the beneficiaries of the government’s 4Ps program.

Upon reaching the place, the Toyota Hilux accidentally hit the boy who was thrown into a ditch.

“Paglabay sa armored car, minglabang ang bata kay nagtuo siya na wala na’y gasunod. Naigo hinuon siya sa Hilux,” Elarcoza said.

Faciol himself took the victim to the Reinhard Wirtgen Memorial Hospital in the same town, but the physician referred the victim to the hospital in Cebu City.

Police temporarily detained Faciol but released him that same day with the conformity of the child’s mother. Both the mother and Faciol reportedly agreed that the latter will shoulder the expenses until the total recovery of the boy. (FREEMAN)