Jeepney runs over toddler at Malabon terminal

MANILA, Philippines - A three-year-old boy died when he was run over by a passenger jeepney at a Malabon City terminal Sunday afternoon.

Malabon City traffic investigator Senior Police Officer 4 Rodolfo Ladaban said the victim, Frangene Daniel Nogales, died of severe head injuries.

Ladaban said at around 4:30 p.m., they received a “distress” call claiming that a young boy was crushed by a passenger jeepney in Barangay Potrero.

“When I arrived the boy was already dead because of severe head injuries. I was the one who pulled him out under the jeepney,” Ladaban told The STAR.

Ladaban said a passenger jeepney (DAR-894), driven by Joel Beltran, was backing into their terminal’s garage at the corner of Gate 5 and Victoneta Avenue in Barangay Potrero when he failed to notice the boy.

Ladaban said the boy, a resident of Bagong Lote street also in Barangay Potrero, only happened to pass by the area with another child when the incident happened.

The driver, who happened to be a relative of the victim’s mother, Luchie, 31, surrendered to the police.

Ladaban said the victim’s family was hesitant to file charges against Beltran after he promised to give financial assistance in the boy’s burial.