By Ria Fernandez
Police are on the hunt for the car driver who rammed several parked motorcycles and other vehicles in the area of J.P. Laurel Street and Muelle de Sampaloc in Manila last Monday morning.
PHOTO OF FRANKIE MARK T. SERRANO, THE SUSPECT BEHIND MULTIPLE COLLISIONS IN J. P. LAUREL, MANILA, TAKEN FROM A BODY CAMERA OF MTPB
"Kung sino man ang nakakaalam , ipagbigay alam sa MPD so we can resolve this case," said Manila top cop Police Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao, Jr. in a press conference at the police headquarters along United Nations on Tuesday afternoon.
The Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB) released a screenshot, taken from one of its body cameras, of the suspect identified as Frankie Mark T. Serrano also known as Marck B. Santos.
According to Manila Police District-Vehicle Traffic Investigation Section (MPD-VTIS), the suspect on board a green Toyota Vios with plate number UKE-459 was traveling along eastward direction of Recto Avenue going to Sta. Mesa when a traffic enforcer flagged him down due to a violation at around 9 a.m.
While in the middle of the discussion, the driver suddenly sped away to a road beside a creek.
However, he did not expect that he entered a dead end where he figured in multiple collisions.
A video uploaded by a netizen on Facebook showed residents stoning and hitting the car of the suspect with a hammer for running over several motorcycles parked on the street.
The suspect tried to get out of the place by maneuvering backward but the angry mob did not stop from attacking him.
Because of panic, he also bumped a tricycle and van until he managed to escape.
Meanwhile, authorities were able to recover the car abandoned by the suspect and arrest his female passenger, who was later released as no case could be filed against her.
Carnapped vehicle
A deeper probe conducted by the Manila Police revealed that the car used by the suspect was possibly a carnapped vehicle.
Police Capt. Jaime Gonzales, MPD-VTIS chief, said they found out in their verification that the plate number used in the Toyota Vios was actually registered for a Sedan Lancer 1996 model.
He added that the car was owned by a doctor who lives in Pandacan, Manila. It was stolen from her sibling, who used it as Grab taxi, in Cavite last Apr. 22. Since then, her brother has been missing.
Moreover, he noted that Serrano might not be using his real name since they seized his fake driver’s license and three identification cards bearing his photos but with different names.
They also got from the abandoned car two plates, where one stated PNP, and a 9mm caliber pistol with bullets, Gonzales added.