Bus drivers in Simbulan vehicular accident charged

MANILA, Philippines - Two bus drivers tagged in the accident that killed journalist Lourdes “Chit” Estella-Simbulan have been charged in court.

Assistant City Prosecutor Ronald Torrijos has filed charges of reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property with homicide against Daniel Espinosa of Universal Guiding Star and Victor Ancheta of Nova Auto Transport Inc.

Judge Ralph Lee of the Regional Trial Court Branch 83 has also ordered the arrest of Espinosa and Ancheta. In an arrest warrant issued last Aug. 8, bail was set at P30,000 for each of the drivers.

Simbulan died on May 13 while in a taxi on her way to meet friends at the UP Ayala Land Technohub along Commonwealth Avenue.

Following her death, Espinosa was implicated after he left behind his bus that rammed the rear of the taxicab. He eventually turned himself over to the police after surrendering to Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Ancheta’s name, meanwhile, cropped up after Universal Guiding Star presented witnesses and evidence that he drove the bus that first sideswiped the taxicab before it was hit by Espinosa’s vehicle.

“That, immediately after the collision, both accused ran away and failed to lend on the spot to the injured victim such help as maybe in their hands, nor did they report the incident to the proper authorities outright for investigation; thus the attendant circumstance of ‘failure to lend help to one’s victim’ under the last paragraph of Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code was present,” stated the criminal information filed by the fiscal on July 18.

Both drivers had denied any liability in the accident. Espinosa claimed that he only hit the taxi as the bus driven by Ancheta hit it first, causing the cab to careen into his path.

Ancheta denied hitting the cab at all and claimed that he did not feel anything that would indicate that he hit the vehicle first.

But in his resolution, Torrijos said “the combined or concurrent recklessness of Espinosa and Ancheta was the direct cause of the deceased and property damages to the taxi being driven by Jagunos. Espinosa’s recklessness is as much the proximate cause of the mishap as that of Ancheta.”

The fiscal, however, dismissed the reckless imprudence resulting in homicide complaint against cab driver Vito Jagunos, who was driving for Simbulan, for insufficiency of evidence.

Lee has yet to set the date for the two bus drivers’ arraignment pending their arrest or posting of bail.