CEBU CITY – The death of a 23-year-old man in a hit-and-run incident on Sunday, February 4, here was a case of road rage.
This was the findings of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) which already filed a murder complaint against the suspect identified as Aaron Karl Tan.
Through witnesses and several security camera footage, investigators were able to find out that Tan was the driver of the Mazda CX7 with license plates YKK-161 that hit Jeslar Larumbe who was driving a motorcycle during the incident.
Police Col. Ireneo Dalogodog, chief of the Cebu City Police Office, said they decided to file a murder complaint against the suspect as investigation showed that the suspect intentionally hit the victim’s motorcycle and left him sprawled on the ground.
Dalogdog said the road rage started at Gorordo Ave. corner F. Sotto Drive.
He said the victim beat the red light and hit the suspect’s car.
Dalogdog said the suspect gave chase until he hit the victim when they reached Queens Road in Barangay Kasambagan.
Based on security camera footage, the victim was dragged for a few meters after he was hit.
Dalogdog said a motorist who saw the incident chased the suspect and confronted him for not stopping after hitting the victim.
The suspect had claimed that he was at home the whole day Sunday, a claim that was contradicted by the evidence that the police were able to gather.
Dalogdog said they were able to secure footage that captured the suspect’s vehicle passing through Fuente Osmeña Circle at 6:08 a.m. with blinkers on.
The hit-and-run that happened around 6 a.m. on Queens Road was just a few kilometers from Fuente Osmeña Circle.
Dalogdog said the evidence that the police gathered against the suspect was strong.
There were also three persons who came forward as witnesses, Dalogdog said.
Accompanied by two lawyers, Tan appeared before the CCPO on Wednesday, February 7, where he claimed that it was her female friend who drove the vehicle on the day that the incident happened.
“I told him, if you were not the one who drove the vehicle, why did you not ask your friend why she was using a siren and blinkers. According to him, his friend told him that he was sleepy and just laughed at him. He said he decided to go back to sleep after talking to his friend,” said Dalogodog.