LTO cites time elapsed between deadly Cebu hit-and-run and driver’s alcohol test

The parents of the 21-year-old driver involved in a deadly hit-and-run in Cebu City may also face criminal charges, the Land Transportation Office said, as it also questioned the time that elapsed between the incident and the driver's alcohol test.

LTO Chairman Markus Lacanilao was in the city to personally oversee the case and said he has also recommended a lifetime ban on suspect Sean Andrew Pajarillo's driver’s license. 

“Kasi hindi [tama] yung lasing ka na, nakadisgrasya ka pa nung ibang mga motorista, tapos makakapatay ka nang inosenteng tao nang ganun-ganun lang, hindi po ako papayag dun,” he said.

(It's not right that you drive drunk, you get into an accident with other motorists and you even end up killing an innocent person just like that. I won't accept that.)

In the early hours of Sunday, the SUV driven by Pajarillo hit Kingston Ralph Cheng, 23, who was walking down the side of the road.

CCTV footage showed that the force of the impact sent the victim into a concrete post.

Before the incident, the same SUV hit a parked car along the road then fled, whereupon it hit Cheng as he walked along the road with a friend. Pajarillo again attempted to flee, but the SUV ended up on its side.

Pajarillo, who is currently under hospital arrest, was seen in CCTV footage seemingly groggy after getting out of his vehicle. Witnesses also said he seemed drunk.

He later tested negative for alcohol, but the LTO is not convinced, citing the time that elapsed from the incident to when he took an alcohol test. 

“Dinala siya sa hospital. After twelve hours, sinaksakan siya ng swero. After 12 or 18 hours lang ata na-check, siyempre bumaba na, na-flush out na. Pero kita natin sa video, andaming mga video, na kita mo na lasing. Mahirap nilang patunayan na hindi siya drunk driving,” Lacanilao said. 

(He was taken to the hospital and had an IV put in. It was only after 12 or 18 hours that his alcohol level was checked, so of course it had gone down, it had been flushed out. But we can see in the video, and there were lots of videos, that you could see he was drunk. It will be difficult for them to prove that he was not drunk driving.)

A show cause order issued to Pajarillo directs him to appear before LTO Regional Office-7's Operations Division in Cebu City. 

His parents are also not off the hook, Lacanilao said, especially if they are the registered owners of the vehicle.

“Hinayaan nila, lasing ‘yung anak [They allowed him, their son was drunk],” he said. — BM, GMA Integrated News