3 dead, 2 hurt as car runs over sidewalk sleepers

MANILA, Philippines - A pedicab driver, his girlfriend, and a two-year-old girl died while two others were hurt when they were run over by a car that went out of the control while they were sleeping on a sidewalk in Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

Chief Inspector Reynaldo Medina, Quezon City Police District’s Traffic Sector 1 commander, identified the victims as Wendy Peraleja, two; Manuel Maming, 23; and Roan Reyna, 18.

Maming died on the spot in front of a bank along Quezon Avenue in Barangay Sta. Teresita near the Mabuhay Rotonda.

Medina said Reyna and Peraleja were rushed to the nearby United Doctor’s Medical Center but died during treatment.

He said two other persons – the girl’s mother, cigarette vendor and barker Lani, and tricycle driver Russel Lumugdang – were also hurt and brought to the same hospital.

Police Officer 1 Jun Policarpio said the victims were run over by a red Honda Civic (TLZ-972) driven by college student Christian Charles Lim, 22.

The five victims were reportedly either sleeping or resting on makeshift mats made of cartons and wooden crates on the pavement.

Policarpio said Lim lost control of his car, which spun and hit the back of a parked jeepney waiting for passengers at the corner of Kanlaon street. The car then ran over the people who were in front of the bank.

Lim said he was on his way to Manila when a taxi cut into his path. He tried avoiding the taxi and lost control of his car.

Policarpio said the victims’ relatives have agreed to a settlement with Lim’s family.