A one-year-old girl died after falling from a moving tricycle and getting struck by a jeepney along J. Sumulong Avenue, Barangay Bagumbayan, Teresa, Rizal on Friday, September 2.
Initial reports by Teresa police revealed that the child was on board the tricycle driven by her father when her older sister lost hold of her.
Footage of the incident shows the girl rolling down the street before getting hit by a jeepney.
The child was rushed to the nearest hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
The father of the child and the jeepney driver were brought to the Teresa Police station for further investigation.
Netizens expressed their shocked over the circulating video. Some points out the neglect over the parents who let their children ride unattended on the side car while others highlight the fact that the jeepney did not follow the proper road safety distance.
Others are enraged over the fact that the jeepney driver will be put behind bars regardless if it’s an accident.
In the Philippines, police follow a standard operating procedure in cases where there are injuries arising from traffic incidents. Normally, when there’s an injured party in a traffic incident, the police as a matter of procedure take the uninjured driver of the vehicle and detain him.
This is merely standard operating procedure of the police and it is not based on law. The objective of this standardized procedure is to be sure that just in case the driver of the vehicle is at fault, he does not get away.
