One-year-old falls out of moving taxi on Baguio zigzag road

A one-year-old child fell out of a moving taxi on the Irisan Road, Baguio City, according to Emil Sumangil’s “24 Oras” report on Friday.

Melvin Joe Cadawas, taxi driver and owner of the dashcam video of he incident, shared that he was shocked that a child fell out of a moving taxi in front of him.

“Driver’s instinct mapapapreno ka na lang agad, napansin ko na lang may umangat na parang paa doon ko na lang. Na realize na bata pala yung nalaglag,” Cadawas said.

(It was a driver’s instinct to step on the brakes right away. I just noticed that someone got up and I realized that the one who fell was a child.)

Based on the video, a woman got out of the taxi and quickly picked up the child. Fortunately, they did not encounter other vehicles during the incident.

“Nung oras na nangyari yun marami po kaming nakasalubong na sasakyan so nung nasa kurbada po kami buti na lang wala kaming nakasalubong,” Cadawas.

(At the time the incident happened, we encountered a lot of cars on the road, but when we were on the curve, good thing that we did not encounter other vehicles.)

The child was reportedly safe and in good health.

According to the Philippine National Police- Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG), the driver of the vehicle was tracked down and could be held accountable for the incident.

“Natunton natin yung driver, natunton natin yung vehicle, yung bata nabuksan yung pinto pero ang ano dito kasama yung nanay sa likod,” P/LTC Christian Dela Cruz, spokesperson of PNP-HPG, said.

(We tracked down the driver and the vehicle, the boy opened the door but the mother was also in the back of the seat.)

“Meron tayong Republic Act 11229, yung child safety and vehicle act yung mga bata tina-transport natin dapat may special seat sila sa likod,” he added.

(We have Republic Act 11229, the Child Safety and Vehicle Act, we must have a special seat in the back for them.)

The PNP-HPG said a one to 12-years-old child was required to be in a child seat with a seatbelt at the back of the car. A motorist who fails to meet the requirement could face a P1,000 to P5,000 fine and suspension of the motorist's driver’s license, whether it was a public or private vehicle.

Dela Cruz warned drivers and parents to double-check the car’s doors and use the child lock feature of the vehicle for added safety.

“Bago tayo mag-transport ng mga ganyan bata tignan muna natin kung talagang nakasarado yung pinto baka naka slightly open ‘yan at kailangan sumunod tayo sa batas,” he added.

(Before we transport children, let us first see if the door is closed. Maybe it's slightly open and we should also follow the law.)

— Richa Noriega/DVM, GMA News