College student dies a day before graduation after alleged tricycle fall

A 23-year-old college student died a day before her graduation after allegedly falling from a tricycle in Barangay Borol 2nd, Balagtas, Bulacan, on July 8.

According to a report by Gabriel Gonzalez on "Unang Balita" on Monday, CCTV footage showed the victim boarding a tricycle at around 11 p.m.

Another CCTV camera recorded what sounded like a heavy thud, followed by bystanders shouting to get the driver's attention. Footage from another angle showed the driver stopping to check what had happened.

"Sa halip po na hintuan siya nung driver ng tricycle, and then 'yung... kasama na passenger na isa pa, eh hindi nila hinintuan 'yung biktima natin," said Balagtas Police Chief P/Maj. Mark San Pedro.

(Instead of stopping for the victim, the tricycle driver and the other passenger left her behind.)

Although none of the recovered CCTV footage captured the exact moment of the incident, authorities said the victim allegedly fell from the moving tricycle.

According to the report, another tricycle driver chased after the vehicle and convinced its driver to return to the scene.

The tricycle driver and his brother, who was one of the passengers, then brought the victim to a clinic, which referred her to a hospital. By then, she was reportedly already unconscious.

Police said that instead of immediately taking the victim to the hospital, the driver stopped to seek help from barangay tanods who were repairing electrical lines nearby. They stayed there for more than eight minutes before leaving.

"Pagdating doon, nireport sa 'min na tumalon. So tulog 'yung bata, tinatanong ko kung naka-inom ba kung papaano ba. Inunat ko yung paa niya, ginigising ko siya sa mukha, 'Ate, ate,' ganoon lang tapos talagang naghihilik lang siya," said Barangay Borol 2nd Executive Officer Norbert Galvez.

(When they arrived, we were told that she had jumped. She appeared to be asleep, so I asked whether she had been drinking or what had happened. I straightened her legs and tried waking her by tapping her face and calling out to her, but she just kept snoring.)

Instead of immediately taking the victim to the hospital, the suspects also brought her to a relative's house before eventually rushing her to a medical facility.

The victim later died from a severe head injury.

"Matagal na panahon nag-aral ang anak ko. Graduation day hindi naka-attend ang anak ko, saan nila nilagay? Sa kabaong? Na dapat ang anak ko masaya na umaakyat dahil sa pagtitiyaga, pagsasakripisyo, paghihirap, lahat," the victim's mother said.

(My daughter studied for so many years. On her graduation day, instead of attending the ceremony, where did they put her? In a coffin? She should have been happily walking across the stage after all her perseverance, sacrifices, and hard work.)

The victim's older brother, Sharvien Paul Claro, said he had planned to celebrate her graduation by treating her to a steakhouse.

"Yung kapatid ko sobrang bait niyan. Ngayon, 'yung kapatid ko, 'yung dapat ga-graduate na at aakyat ng stage at kakain sana sila—iti-treat ko sana sila sa isang steakhouse. Biglang nawala 'yung kapatid ko," he said.

(My sister was such a good person. She was supposed to graduate, walk across the stage, and celebrate with us. I was planning to treat them to a steakhouse, but she's suddenly gone.)

The victim's family later met with the suspects at the police station but said they were not convinced that she had simply fallen from the tricycle.

"May something na missing talaga po doon sa story. Sabi nila hindi namalayan. Tinanong ko 'yung nasa loob bakit mo hindi namalayan na nalaglag. Sabi po niya ay napuwing daw po siya at nagpupunas daw po siya ng mata niya kaya daw po hindi niya namalayan na nalaglag," said the victim's uncle, JB Jacinto.

"Kine-claim nila na wala silang ginawang masama kay Polen," he added.

(There is definitely something missing from their story. They said they didn't notice she had fallen. I asked the passenger inside the sidecar why he didn't notice it, and he claimed something got into his eye and he was wiping it. They insist they did nothing wrong to Polen.)

Authorities said the tricycle driver and his brother are now being treated as suspects while the investigation continues.

"Ongoing pa rin po kasi ang aming investigation, subalit identified naman po itong mga suspect. Pine-prepare na po natin yung mga kaukulang papeles. Base na rin po sa desisyon ng parent ng ating biktima, magtutuloy sila ng reklamo laban sa ating mga suspect," San Pedro said.

(Our investigation is still ongoing, but the suspects have already been identified. We are preparing the necessary documents, and based on the decision of the victim's parents, they will be filing charges against the suspects.)

In a Facebook post, one of the suspects said they are willing to cooperate with the victim's family and maintained that they did nothing wrong.

The tricycle driver has also reportedly put up for sale the tricycle involved in the incident.

GMA News is seeking the side of the suspects.— Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/MCG, GMA News