Boljoon municipal policemen escort Al-Dhinier Hadjula Sanaani (center), a medical representative, to the temporary office of Asst. Provincial Prosecutor Rusto Presas for the filing of charges.
A COMPLAINT was filed yesterday against the 26-year-old driver of the Toyota sedan that mowed down six high school students, killing three, in Boljoon town, southern Cebu last Thursday.
Al-Dhinier Hadjula Sanaani, a medical representative, was charged with reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.
When presented before Asst. Provincial Prosecutor Rustom Presas, Sanaani chose not to undergo preliminary investigation which could have given him a chance to submit a counter-affidavit and refute the allegations.
Presas elevated the case before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Argao which has jurisdiction over crimes that happened in Boljoon.
“A charge for reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide is usually filed before the Municipal Trial Court. But since this case involves minors, then the respondent will have to face trial before the RTC,” the prosecutor told reporters.
Sanaani may be released from detention today if he posts a P30,000 bail—the amount recommended by the prosecutor. The respondent was accompanied by a lawyer who declined media interviews.
Sanaani earlier told the police that he lost control of the car’s wheel after the front tire fell from the road.
The respondent claimed he swerved to the left to avoid hitting the railing. But the sedan instead hit the victims.
Tests showed that Sanaani was not intoxicated when the incident happened.
Sanaani and his companion Kristin Joyce Batucan were heading home to Cebu City after delivering medicines in Dumaguete City.
The car was owned by Batucan.
The three victims who died in the accident were Judy Ann Lomera, 18; Cristy Marie Estella, 18; and Joanne Marie Romero, 16. Three other girls survived but are still undergoing treatment.
SPO2 Fernan Romero, the father of one of the three girls who died in the accident, vowed to pursue the case against Sanaani. “I won’t back off in this case. We’re looking for justice. Hence, I’ll fight until the end. I really pity my daughter,” said Romero who is presently assigned in Caloocan City.