Police deny slow response in Tagaytay car crash that killed 6 teenagers

Tagaytay City police on Tuesday denied that rescuers failed to timely and properly attend to last Sunday's car crash there that killed six people, all of them minors.

In a phone interview, Tagaytay City police chief Supt. Ferdinand Quirante told GMA News Online that first to arrive at the scene, less than 10 minutes after the accident at 12:45 a.m., were barangay tanods.

He said policemen arrived minutes later to help extinguish the fire that erupted from the car, which hit a concrete barrier first before hitting a tree and bursting into flames.

"Pinagtulungan ng pulis at barangay 'yung apoy," Quirante said. "Gumamit sila ng apat na fire extinguishers to take the small fire out."

Quirante was reacting to a Facebook post by a witness claiming that police and bystanders responded slowly to the car crash. The witness, Den Castillo, also said police at the scene left early.

Quirante denied that they abandoned the wreck. "Mali po 'yun. Mobile driver lang po ang umalis," he said, adding that the driver left to fetch personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

"Nung hindi na-contact ['yung BFP], medyo na-delay, pinuntahan," he said.

He said police attempted to call the BFP through landline, text, and mobile call before dispatching their mobile unit.

Despite his clarifications, Quirante was unable to note the time it took for the BFP to arrive at the crash site and how long the blaze lasted.

He also did not deny Castillo's claim that one female victim was still alive when the police arrived, but insisted that authorities exerted all efforts to save her.

"There was a survivor near the airbag, sa tabi ng driver sa harap. May apoy... Police were ready to extricate the victim but it was futile because all the victims were stuck. Halos nakalahati 'yung sasakyan sa lakas [ng impact]," Quirante said.

The Tagaytay police chief added that the bystander who Castillo said claimed to be a nurse attempted to force her way to the car even after police pushed back witnesses to prevent further injuries.

"Nagpumilit siyang lumapit tapos biglang sumiklab yung sasakyan. The nurse hit the dirt... Bigla siyang nawala," Quirante said. —KBK, GMA News