Emergency responders tend to the victims of a hit-and-run incident in Barangay Basak, Mandaue City in the early morning of Sunday, October 6. | MCPO
CEBU CITY, Philippines (UPDATED, 2:33 p.m. October 7)— A habal-habal driver and his woman passenger died in a hit and run incident in M.C. Briones St., Barangay Jagobiao in Mandaue City, at around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 6, 2024.
The habal-habal or motorcycle-for-hire driver was identified as Richard Quiaot, 43 years old, a resident of Paknaan in Mandaue City, while the passenger was identified as Nina Logarta, 54 years old, a resident of Barangay Labogon, Mandaue City.
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The motorcycle the victims were riding collided with a counterflowing white sports utility vehicle (SUV). The driver of the erring vehicle left the victims behind and fled the area.
The police is still trying to identify the driver of the red Toyota Hilux pickup that hit the motorcycle.
Both victims came from the Consolacion public market and were heading home to Barangay Labogon.
That was according to a relative of the Logarta in a chat interview with CDN Digital.
“Nangumpra na siya [Logarta] sa Consolacion. Padung na na siya uli sa dihang nahitabo na,” said Lydia Pongase, a cousin of the victim.
(She went to the market in Consolacion to buy goods. She was heading home when that happened.)
“Ang driver gawas nga nag habal-habal driver naninda pud og isda usahay. Sagad pasahero niya iya rang mga silingan,” Pongase said.
(The driver aside from being a habal-habal driver would sometimes sell fish on the side. Most of his passengers are his neighbors.)
Based on the investigation of Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) Traffic Division, the motorcycle was traveling to Basak proper, heading south, occupying the inner lane, while the SUV was traveling in the opposite direction.
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Upon reaching the area, the driver overtook another vehicle and initiated a counterflow, but as he overtook the other vehicle, he collided instead with the motorcycle.
The impact of the collision sent the motorcycle driver and his passenger flying from the motorcycle landing hard on the hard pavement.
Medical emergency responders, who arrived in the area after the accident, rushed the victims to the Eversley Child Sanitarium and General Hospital in but they were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.
Police, in their initial investigation, believed that it was a red pickup truck that collided with the victims. However, as the investigation progressed, it turned out to be an SUV.
With the deaths of the victiims, police are turning to the CCTV cameras near the are to identify the driver of the Toyota Hilux pickup.| With a report from Paul Lauro