LTO man in hit-and-run accident fired, loses license

A Land Transportation Office (LTO) employee who drove while drunk and then fled from the scene after he hit two women with his car in Rizal on Aug. 14 has been fired and permanently banned from driving.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, LTO Chief Markus Lacanilao said he ordered the dismissal and the filing of administrative charges against the employee, whose driving license was also permanently revoked.

“You are from LTO and yet you drove while drunk and then ran away? The police already blocked you but you still fled,” Lacanilao said, addressing the suspect who is being held by authorities in Antipolo City.

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“We do not tolerate such behavior among our employees. If we need to send them to jail, we will send them to jail,” he added.

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In a separate statement issued last week, the Rizal police said the 39-year-old LTO employee struck two women who were crossing Sumulong Highway, putting both in the hospital.

He fled but was later caught by an off-duty police officer. He now faces criminal charges for reckless imprudence resulting in physical injury and abandonment of one’s victim.

Lacanilao, meanwhile, also announced the dismissal of two other LTO employees involved in separate hit-and-run and illegal counterflow cases.

The first one from Cebu hit a cyclist with an LTO patrol car and did not stop to help the victim. The second employee assigned to the Cagayan Valley region, on the other hand, drove against the flow of traffic even though there was no emergency. —MARC ANDRE ESGUERRA INQ