Pajariilo involved in a previous hit-and-run? Tommy wants more info

Local

CEBU City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña appealed to the public for information that could determine whether the suspect in the fatal hit-and-run in Barangay Banilad had been involved in similar incidents before.

During a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13, Osmeña called on anyone with relevant information to step forward as authorities build their case.

“We have to take positive steps to ensure the people that their safety is protected,” Osmeña said.

“The most important reason for this meeting is to ask the public in general if they have any information that this is not the first time the person is involved in a hit-and-run. We heard that this may not be the first or second time, but we don’t have details.”

Osmeña said the city government is pursuing both accountability and prevention in the wake of the Feb. 8 crash that killed entrepreneur Kingston Ralph Cheng along Paseo Saturnino Road in Barangay Banilad.

“We just hope it’s not going to happen to somebody else. That really hurts,” he said. “We are taking steps to prosecute the person involved, but we are also taking steps that are preventive in nature.”

The incident occurred shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday near the entrance of Maria Luisa Subdivision.

Cheng, founder of The Mill Lifestyle Cafe at Ayala Center Cebu, was walking near a resto-bar when he was struck by a speeding vehicle. A city government ambulance rushed him to a private hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) identified the driver as 21-year-old Sean Andrew Pajarillo.

Investigators said Pajarillo was driving a Toyota Innova at high speed when he first hit a parked Toyota Vios near One Paseo.

Instead of stopping, he allegedly accelerated to flee the scene.

Moments later, he struck Cheng. The force of the collision threw the victim into a utility pole.

Authorities said the driver again failed to stop and continued driving until the vehicle overturned along Paseo Eulalia inside Maria Luisa Subdivision.

Pajarillo remains confined in a hospital under police guard.

Personnel from the CCPO-TEU have been assigned to monitor him while he recovers from injuries sustained in the crash.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Jose Los Baños, CCPO information officer, earlier confirmed that hospital examinations showed the driver had not consumed alcohol.

“The results came out negative,” Los Baños said.

Investigators also reported that Pajarillo was unable to present a valid driver’s license or vehicle registration documents at the time of the incident.

Charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property were filed against Pajarillo, who posted bail on Friday, Feb. 13.(TGP)