A pick-up truck ran over a child in Bacolod City; the child was reportedly playing hide-and-seek.

The child referred to as “Marc” turned four years old last January 26, 2024 which made it hard even more for his mother to bear. She denied the news team an interview, however Marc’s aunt spoke on her behalf.

Nel, the aunt, said that the boy along with some friends were playing at the back of Burgos Public Market in Bacolod City.

“Nasa likod ko lang naman siya pero bigla siyang nawala. Magkasama naman kami ng kanyang ina. Nagulat kami na wala na siya sa tabi namin,” Nel said.

In an investigation by the Bacolod City Police, it was learned that the driver of the pick-up truck had a transaction in one of the establishments in the area.

When the female driver returned to the pick-up, she was observed to have handed out food to some children who approached her before she got in the vehicle. But during a maneuver to leave the area, the child who was hiding under the vehicle near the rear tires was hit.

“Nung nag-reverse na siya, parang may biglang tumunog. May naapakan daw na bagay, isa palang bata,” according to Police Captain Francis Depasucat, chief of Police Station 4.

Depasucat said that Marc’s family agreed not to pursue any filing of charges against the driver whose identity was withheld.

However, the Local Government Unit of Bacolod City vowed to look into the accident as well in order to avoid a similar incident.

“I’d like to get a full report sa incident and come up with measures on how to prevent sa mga future incidents,” Mayor Albee Benitez said.