The Central Police District-Traffic Management Group said charges of physical injuries against suspect Richard Ong has not been changed to homicide. Investigators stressed that Baldo’s family have not yet "taken action."
"They have to present a death certificate so changes can be made on the case filed against the suspect. It’s not up to us, it’s up to them," a source said.
Authorities earlier filed with the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple physical injuries against Ong who plowed his BMW into a group of students near a dormitory of the UP Diliman campus last Feb. 19.
Baldo was sitting with friends Meryl Antonio, Gwendolyn Puyat, Carla Ambrosio and Gerry Hipol on the sidewalk when Ong, accompanied by cousin Dick Soriano in the car, hit them.
Ong and Soriano were allegedly drunk at the time, police said. Five days after the incident, Baldo died from a head injury. Antonio and Puyat, both 17, also suffered serious injuries. – Matthew Estabillo