Priest in car runs over and kills boy

CEBU, Philippines -  A four-year-old boy was killed after he was run over by a car driven by a priest who was heading to celebrate Mass during a fiesta celebration in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City, last Thursday evening.

Trisvaughn Letrago, of the said place, was playing together with other children when he was hit by the Mitsubishi Strada with license plate numbers YJE 429 driven by Fr. Pedro Lucio Dayag, 50, living in St. Michael’s Subdivision, Barangay Talamban, Cebu City, and a property administrator of the University of San Carlos–Talamban Campus.

SPO4 Apolinario Niez of the Mandaue City Traffic Division said Dayag was supposed to celebrate Mass at 6:30 p.m. at the Sto. Niño Parish in Paknaan.

But since the church was located in the interior portion of the barangay, he negotiated a narrow street where the boy was playing alone. 

The boy allegedly threw a bamboo pole into the path of the vehicle and Dayag moved to avoid it, not noticing that he had hit and run over the boy.

It was the lay minister in the car with Dayag who heard the bump and told Dayag he had hit the boy.

Dayag immediately brought the boy to the Velez Hospital in Paknaan and later to the Cortes Hospital where the boy died a few minutes later.

Dayag went back to the church to celebrate Mass where he then asked for forgiveness during his homily.  After the Mass he immediately surrendered himself to Sr. Insp. Ramil Morpos, the Homicide Section chief of the Mandaue City Police Office, who also lived in the neighborhood.

He was immediately brought to the MCPO for custody but was released yesterday noon after the parents of the child signed an affidavit of desistance as they were convinced that the incident was purely accidental.

Dayag apologized to the parents for the incident and also assured the parents that he will shoulder all the burial expenses of the boy.  (FREEMAN)