Another patrol car involved in accident

Another Toyota Innova Patrol figured in an accident last Sunday while responding to an alarm in sitio Tabay, barangay Tisa, Cebu City, resulting in the injury of a policeman and three civilians in the taxi that hit it.

This is the eighth time that an Innova patrol car has been involved in an accident.

PO1 Richard Condis was driving patrol car 008 with plate number SHM-339 heading to Salvador Extension when they were hit by the Kia Avella taxi with plate number YCJ-977 driven by Daniel Miranda in barangay Tisa.

Condis' passenger SPO2 Jonas Las Piñas was injured in the incident as were Miranda's passengers Eugene Co, 38; Marianne Lee, 31 and Myla Lee, 23, Chinese citizens presently staying in the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa.

They were taken to the Chong Hua Hospital after the incident.

Traffic policeman PO1 Elmer Deguro said Miranda was at fault because he was negligent in observing traffic rules and did not give the right of way to the patrol car that was responding to an emergency.

The right side of the Innova was damaged by collision while the taxi also sustained damage as well.

Because this is the eighth time an Innova patrol car assigned to the Mobile Patrol Group met an accident, city police director Patrocinio Comendador said there is a need to categorize all the alarms received by the police so they do not have to rush all the time.

Most of the accident happened to patrol cars while they were responding to alarms.

Comendador specified that minor alarms such as drunk person alarms and minor vehicular accident alarms are placed under Code 1 as minimal and responding patrol cars will only drive at 20 kilometers per hour. Code 2 alarms allows driving at normal speed while Code 3, the maximum code, the likes of which are robbery alarms, allows driving at 60 kph. - Flor Z. Perolina/BRP