Victims’ kin willing to file case vs driver

CEBU, Philippines – The families of 10 injured victims in Sunday’s vehicular collision between a minibus and multicab in the City of Naga are willing to file a case against the bus driver, the police said.

In an interview, Police Officer 2 Gilmer No-val of Naga Police Station said the victims told investigators they are willing to pursue legal action against Edgar Lapis.

The minibus operator, based in Sibonga town, has expressed willingness to amicably settle with the victims and will be consulting a lawyer for a possible legal battle, Noval said.

Noval added that the operator has offered the victims to settle the case outside the court as they are willing to extend financial support to them, although he could not confirm as of press time yesterday if the families have already received any help.

“Ang minibus operator taga Sibonga. Mo-refer sila sa defense lawyer, makig-settle sila sa mga biktima,” he said.

Noval said the police have reminded the victims’ families to decide if they are willing to file the case because the reglementary period for detaining the suspect will lapse this afternoon.

It was also learned that the victims, who were earlier rushed to South General Hospital in the City of Naga, have been transferred to Perpetual Succour Hospital in Cebu City for further medical treatment.

The victims were supposed to attend a birthday party Sunday afternoon when the accident occurred along a highway in Barangay South Poblacion. All of those injured were passengers of the multicab driven by Jerry Quilaton.

Initial investigation revealed that the multicab swerved towards the opposite lane and collided with the minibus head-on.

However, it was not yet clear what prompted the multicab driver to swerve to the opposite lane. Noval earlier said there were reports that the driver tried to overtake another vehicle, but other reports claimed he tried to avoid a pedestrian.

One of the multicab’s passengers, Charlotte Mirafuentes, 16, was rushed to the hospital but died hours later. —/JMD (FREEMAN)