Caloocan cop killed in road mishap

MANILA, Philippines – A police officer on his way home after going on the night shift was killed when a 10-wheeler truck crushed his motorcycle in Caloocan City yesterday morning.

Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano, city police investigation chief, said Senior Police Officer 1 Enrique Matawaran, 45, assigned at Police Community Precinct 3, died on the spot from head and body injuries.

Matawaran was riding his motorcycle to Tondo, Manila when a cargo truck (TDQ-990), driven by Hilario Padayhag, 41, hit his motorcycle at the corner of 4th Avenue and Rizal Avenue Extension at around 9:15 a.m. The two motorists were going south.

“I stopped on the red light on 4th Avenue and when I drove on I heard a loud thud at the right side of my truck. I stopped again and checked and I saw the victim under my vehicle,” Padayhag told The STAR.

The driver said he did not notice a motorcycle was in front of his truck. He said it was the first time he was involved in a major accident in the past 15 years.

He promised that he and his employer, Allegiance Cargo Advance Inc., would cooperate with the victim’s family.

Police Officer 2 Ferdinand Manapat said Padayhag could face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property for Matawaran’s death and the destruction of his motorcycle.