ON THE SCENE | Truck drags motorcyclist underneath, leaving a trail of shoes, debris, and death
(WARNING: This entry contains images that some viewers and readers might find disturbing.)
An empty delivery truck ran over a motorcycle, dragged its driver underneath and killed him, leaving behind a trail of shoes and debris before it finally stopped.
John Paul Jimenez, who drove the truck, said that he lost his brakes shortly after getting off a bridge at around ten in the evening of February 2, 2020 in San Mateo, Rizal, a municipality 24 kilometers east of Manila.
When Jimenez saw a motorcycle on his right that was veering left, he blew his horn to warn him because he had already lost control of the truck's speed.
"The motorcycle driver just glanced but he kept on," Jimenez said in Filipino during an interview held at the scene minutes after the collision that killed Rodolfo Valdemoro, a community leader in Marikina City.
Jimenez then hit Valdemoro from behind and was only able to make a full stop after he had crushed the latter's body.
"I still got to him even though I had already applied the engine brakes and was already moving at 20 kilometers per hour at that time," Jimenez said.
But according to a witness, the truck driver refused to give way to the victim and that Jimenez didn't even stop even after he had run over him.
"I was already blowing my horn to call his attention but he refused to stop," said Justin Riotan, a motorcycle driver who was also interviewed at the scene.
Another witness, Nestor Tanodra, who himself drove a truck for a living, said that it was unlikely for the truck to lose its brakes.
When the truck slowed down, Riotan managed to use his motorcycle to block the vehicle and prevent Jimenez from escaping, Riotan said.
Jimenez even had the guts to threaten witnesses and bystanders because he held a length of pipe, Riotan said.
This was denied by Jimenez, who said that he was protecting himself from a mob that was beginning to gang up on him.
"People were already trying to climb into the truck, forcing me to get off," Jimenez said.
Meanwhile, Valdemoro’s body was crushed by the truck, killing him instantly.
A community leader, Valdemoro was chairman of the ROGA compound in Marikina City for 16 years, according to one of the witnesses.
Under his leadership, the compound gained recognition from the city, winning Clean and Green and Peace and Order awards.
Valdemoro is one of this year's first victims of motorcycle crashes, which has emerged as the ninth-leading cause of death among Filipinos, according to an October 2019 report of the Philippine Star.
Motorcycle crashes were not on the top ten causes of death "five, ten years ago," the report said, quoting a transport official.
In June of the same year, the Philippine Star also reported that motorcycle crashes rose 21% in 2018 in Metro Manila, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Currently, seven million motorcycles are registered with the Land Transportation Office, three million more than all other vehicles combined, the Philippine Star said.
