Tuesday, October 10, 2007 Speeding bike hits ABS-CBN vehicle
A SPEEDING motorcycle hit a parked vehicle of a television station early yesterday morning.
Roland Namanas, 32, of Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, was driving his motorcycle when the vehicle veered off the lane and hit the bumper of the parked Nissan Frontier of ABS-CBN Cebu.
Reporter Ramil Ayuman, who was inside the service van, said the Frontier was parked across Cebu City Medical Center near Regino Mercado Elementary School while they were waiting for alarms.
Ayuman was with cameraman Allan Almendras and driver Mario Castañares when the incident occurred past 2 a.m. yesterday along Panganiban St., Cebu City.
Opposite lane
Ayuman said in a mobile phone interview that Castañeras had just returned to the driver seat after checking the engine of the van when they spotted the motorcycle swerve from the opposite lane.
He said a screeching sound followed and they spotted Namanas’s motorcycle going underneath the van, causing a dent on the vehicle’s bumper.
Namanas reportedly suffered minor injuries.
Ayuman said the first thing that came into his mind was who was driving the motorcycle—if it was a policeman. “Kung kulatahon ko magpakulata ra man pud ko,” Ayuman said in jest. Recalling the incident last Sept. 18 where a vehicle of a Mandaue City police official collided with another service van of the television network.
Dismissed
Reporter Ramil Paican, cameraman Joel Noel and driver Samuel Trangia were dismissed after ABS-CBN found out that they withheld the full footage of the incident where they got even with Senior Insp. Jose Liddawa by beating him up. Liddawa, who was allegedly drunk, attacked them first after his vehicle hit the service van.
Ayuman learned that Namanas, whom he described was under the influence of liquor, was in a hurry to buy medicine.
Because there was only a dent on the bumper of the van, Ayuman said he will not be filing complaints against Namanas.
Namanas, however, was ordered by the City Traffic Section to present the registration of the motorcycle, which he failed to show. (JST)
