CAMP ALEJO SANTOS, Bulacan – An octogenarian, or a person aged 80 to 89, died, and three others were injured in a hit-and-run vehicular accident in San Miguel town on Tuesday (January 7).

A report reaching Col. Satur Ediong, Bulacan police director, identified the fatality as Pacencia Gamao Francisco, a resident of Sitio Duplas, Barangay Kalawakan, Doña Remedios Trinidad town. The injured victims were rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment.

Initial investigations revealed that the fatality, along with Florencia Balag Felix and Mary Jane Palines Ranulo, was onboard a tricycle driven by Arle Gamao Francisco. They were traveling northbound along the national highway in Barangay Sta. Rita Matanda, San Miguel town, at around 5:00 a.m. when an unidentified vehicle with license plate AAA 3218 rear-ended the tricycle.

The front license plate of the unidentified vehicle fell off during the impact, and its driver immediately sped away from the scene.

The collision caused the tricycle to swerve into the southbound lane, where it collided with a Kawasaki 175 Barako motorcycle bearing license plate CP14924, driven by Reynaldo Gomez Mactal.

Police launched a follow-up operation, which led to the identification of the owner of the hit-and-run vehicle, a resident of Nueva Ecija. The owner claimed that their driver had abandoned the vehicle and was nowhere to be found.

📷 Unsplash, Brice Cooper