Man dies after getting hit by province-owned vehicle
Employees from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) were on their way to Ronda in southwestern Cebu for a meeting with the town’s local disaster team yesterday.
They barely plied half of Talisay City through the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) when they came across a disaster they themselves need to tend to.
The province-owned vehicle they were aboard on hit a 67 year-old pedestrian in Brgy. San Roque in Talisay City yesterday morning.
The victim was identified by responding officers from the City of Talisay Office of Development Authority (CTODA) as Rodrigo Somobay from Brgy. San Roque.
SPO2 Carlos Dicdican, CTODA investigator, told reporters yesterday that Somobay was immediately rushed to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) by the emergency rescue team from Cebu City who acted upon PDRRMO’s information.
However, he said the victim was declared dead around 8 a.m.
Dicdican stated that the incident happened past 6 a.m. yesterday. The left-side of the vehicle’s headlight hit Somobay who, according to initial investigations, was crossing the CSCR to dump his garbage in a dumpster.
“Nilabang siya sa dalan sa Cebu South Coastal Road sa Brgy. San Roque. Ang pick-up padulong south (The victim crossed the Cebu South Coastal Road in Brgy. San Roque. The pick-up was bound for southern Cebu),” he stated.
The vehicle involved was a black, Hilux pick-up truck, with plate number SKN 712, owned by the PDRRMO.
It was driven by a PDRRMO worker identified as Nicolas Matugas, 48, residing in Talisay City. Aside from Matugas, the pick-up had 5 more passengers on board.
Matugas is currently under the custody of the Talisay City Police Station for further investigation.
In response, PDRRMO chief Baltazar Tribunalo Jr. said their office will respect and honor the outcome of the investigations.
He added that they will shoulder the funeral and hospital bills for the victim at the same time assuring that their driver, Matugas, was of good character.
“Maayo siya nga driver. Wala siya’y any adverse record. (He was a good driver. He has no adverse record). It was just an accident,” Tribunalo said.
He added that Matugas is a casual employee working for PDRRMO since 2013.
Tribunalo stated that the driver voluntarily surrendered to Talisay City Police after the accident happened.
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