LTO orders lifetime ban on driver after hitting pedestrian

By Jordan Kurt Domingo

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) has ordered the lifetime revocation of the driver’s license of a motorist who hit an 82-year-old woman while she was crossing a pedestrian lane along Maharlika Highway in Naga City, Camarines Sur, on Monday.

The elderly pedestrian was rushed to the Bicol Medical Center after sustaining serious injuries but was declared dead upon arrival, according to the LTO.

“We cannot ignore an incident like this, especially when the victim was a pedestrian using a designated crosswalk,” LTO chief Markus Lacanilao said.

“Our stance is clear: drivers who jeopardize the lives of other road users must be held accountable. In cases like this, we will strictly enforce the law and ensure proper accountability,” he added.

The driver was ordered to surrender the driver’s license to the Intelligence and Investigation Unit of the LTO Regional Office V.

Atty. Noreen San Luis, city administrator of Naga and a former LTO regional director for Bicol, said the lifetime revocation was appropriate under the circumstances.

The death of the 82-year-old woman was the second fatal incident in Naga this year involving a pedestrian who was crossing a designated pedestrian lane.

The first incident occurred on Sept. 20 and involved 31-year-old public school teacher Jao Francis Per Mancera, who died after being struck while crossing a pedestrian lane along M.T. Villanueva Avenue.

The vehicle involved in Monday’s incident was also placed on alarm, suspending its pending registration transactions and other related operations.

The LTO earlier said it was drafting a memorandum order that could provide for the revocation of driver’s licenses of motorists involved in pedestrian lane-related incidents.