The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has revoked the license of the UV Express driver who rammed multiple vehicles Friday on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, killing one motorcycle rider and injuring 13 others.
Following the directive of Department of Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez, LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao implemented the perpetual disqualification of the driver, 51-year-old Ruel Dela Cerna.
“We will make sure that this UV Express driver will never drive anymore,” Lopez said in Filipino.
The suspect was arrested by the Quezon City Police District and underwent sobriety and alcohol breath analyzer tests, which both yielded negative results.
Dela Cerna, however, admitted to the QCPD and LTO that he had used illegal drugs Thursday night, just hours before the Friday morning crash.
He is currently detained at the QCPD Traffic Enforcement Unit and faces multiple charges, including reckless imprudence resulting in multiple physical injuries and damage to property, violation of the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act, and being an improper person to operate a motor vehicle.
According to the police, Dela Cerna was driving a Mitsubishi Adventure UV Express eastbound along Commonwealth Avenue from Elliptical Road toward Fairview when he suddenly lost control of his vehicle.
He rammed into 14 motorcycle riders, continued to accelerate, and made a U-turn at Tandang Sora Avenue, where he collided with several more vehicles, injuring four individuals who sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has also suspended the operation of the UV Express involved in the incident.
LTFRB Chairman Atty. Vigor Mendoza II said a show-cause order has been issued against the vehicle’s owner, directing him or her to explain why the franchise should not be revoked.
“The owner of this particular unit has a lot of explaining to do because of that incident. We will determine in the course of the investigation why the driver of that UV Express reacted that way, which resulted in death and multiple injuries,” Mendoza said.
He added that the driver sped off after the collision, “continuing to accelerate and repeatedly driving recklessly, circling from the eastbound to the westbound lanes of Commonwealth Avenue and vice versa, bumping into other vehicles and causing injuries to several victims in his attempt to evade apprehension.”
Previously, the LTO also revoked the driver’s license of an SUV driver who chased and rammed a motorcycle driven by a 15-year-old boy in Teresa, Rizal.
But unlike Dela Cerna, the LTO and the police did not name the suspect in the Teresa incident even if a complaint for attempted murder was to be filed against him.