Ateneo parking lot death: Driver says she was not negligent

MANILA, Philippines - A woman driver accused of running over an Ateneo grade school student in the school’s parking lot in Quezon City last year pleaded not guilty yesterday to the charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.

Lawyer Rolando Villones, said his client, Ma. Theresa Torres, pleaded not guilty “because we intend to disprove the charges.”

Villones said that while their camp regrets that Julian Carlo Miguel “Amiel” Alcantara, 10, a fourth-grade student, died in the incident, they are going to dispute “whether it’s accompanied by negligence.”

Police said that at around 4 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2009, Amiel, who was with his brother, sister and nanny, were walking toward their vehicle when a Toyota Hi-Ace, driven by Torres, sped toward them.

The nanny, Tomasa Suarez, pushed Amiel’s older brother and sister out of the way. The van hit Suarez and Amiel, then ran over him. The vehicle stopped when it hit a Honda CRV and a Kia van, according to reports.

According to initial reports, witnesses alleged that moments before the incident, they saw Torres texting on her cell phone, then stoop to pick up something from the floor of the van.

During yesterday’s hearing, the court set a mediation between Torres and Amiel’s family on Nov. 10.

Apart from the cases before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 106 in connection with the boy’s death, Torres also faces charges of reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries for the injuries sustained by the boy’s sister and nanny.

Despite the scheduled mediation, the Alcantara family – represented by lawyer Luis Pangulayan – said Torres should “still be imprisoned and face the civil penalties” in connection with the case.

Villones said they expect the mediation to just cover the civil aspect of the complaint, but Pangulayan said if the mediation is confined to the civil aspect, it “is going to fail.”

Lawyer Raffy Aquino, also from the prosecution, said “the defense is being very technical in using the word ‘accident.’ We are very disappointed that the defense is looking at mediation just for the civil aspect. The Alcantaras are not after the money.”

The boy’s father, Jose Alcantara, said Torres has not shown accountability for her actions and any sign of readiness to undertake measures for the incident not to happen again. He said they are ready to pursue the charges if the mediation process fails.

It took some time from the moment the case was filed in court up to yesterday’s arraignment as the prosecution asked that the charges be elevated from “reckless imprudence resulting in homicide” to “homicide.” The court junked the motion.