By: Jennifer P. Rendon
A blue guard died after being run over by a speeding vehicle on Benigno Aquino Ave., an area in Mandurriao district, Iloilo City which is being groomed as a “traffic discipline zone” or TDZ.
Jemar Celebrado, 39, a resident of Barangay San Isidro, La Paz district, was crossing the street around 3:25 a.m. Wednesday when he got rammed by a black sports utility vehicle (SUV).
Police Master Sergeant Alfredo Masamong, Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) traffic investigator, said the victim was about to report for duty at Voiceless Technologies, Inc., a business process outsourcing (BPO) office in Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao, when the incident happened.
Masamong said Celebrado was crossing a closed U-turn slot in front of a mall when the accident happened.
A concerned citizen informed the police station of the incident.
Masamong said he called the Iloilo City Emergency Responders (ICER) to take the victim to Western Visayas Medical Center, also in Mandurriao district, where he was later declared dead.
Masamong said they were able to secure footages from closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras of several establishments in the area.
Based on the video, the vehicle did not stop after hitting the victim. Upon reaching the intersection at Taft North in Mandurriao, the driver turned right towards Jaro Plaza.
But instead of navigating in front of the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral, it went straight towards Washington, Jaro which is a one-way street.
The driver again drove into a one-way portion of E. Lopez Street, in front of the building of Pandesal ni Paa also in Jaro.
Masamong said the vehicle evaded the Jaro Police Station on Washington Street, Jaro.
“We hope to identify the vehicle soon,” he said.
But Masamong also asked the driver to surrender.
Because of what happened, several observers noted that it is time for the Iloilo City government to impose TDZ scheme on the 14-kilometer stretch of the Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue (Diversion Road) from San Rafael in Mandurriao district to Ungka Iloilo Terminal and General Services Inc. in Jaro.
Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) head Jeck Conlu earlier said the plan is to enforce 24-hour traffic discipline in the area where local ordinances and national road laws will be strictly implemented.
Several months ago, a couple, who were both public school teachers, were killed after being run over by a speeding car also on Diversion Road.
Alnie Dinah Osano, 36, a teacher of Ticud Elementary School in La Paz district, and her husband, Joe Marie Osano, principal of La Paz 2 Elementary, died instantly in the incident.
The couple were crossing a pedestrian lane when a Mazda MX5 sports car ran them over.
The driver later surrendered to the police.
