THE charges pressed against the drunken truck driver, who killed seven people on April 9, could be elevated to reckless imprudence resulting to multiple murder after the police discovered crucial details that could prove the crime he committed was premeditated by his suicidal thoughts.
Seven people were killed, including three children, and four others were badly injured after a six-wheeler truck driven by Freddie Talisayan hit two motorcycles and a motorizes tricycle along Cugman highway, Cagayan de Oro City Sunday night.
Prior to the worst road accident that hit Cagayan de Oro in recent years, Talisayan had a quarrel with his “mistress” in Bukidnon that provoked him to make threatening words through text messages and engaged in a heavy drinking spree with friends.
Chief Inspector Evan Viñas, police station 10 chief, said there were exchanges of messages on the suspect’s cellphone with his girlfriend two hours before the fatal drunken road rage occurred.
One line reads: “Maypa maghubog ko karon aron mahuman tanan basin mabangga ko og magdrive imo ra japun kong madumduman nga naay Freddie nagmahal nimo tarong (It will be better if I get drunk today so that everything will end, maybe I’ll be involved in an accident while driving and you will remember that there’s a Freddie who loved you).”
Another Freddie’s message to his lover he calls only “hon” warns: “Maypa mamatay na lang ko aron mahuman tanan (Its better if I’ll just die so everything will end).”
Unresolved love quarrels, Viñas said, had obviously triggered the intoxicated Freddie to crash the dump truck.
“Naay suicidal instinct ang suspect nga ma-consider nga premeditated ang iyang criminal action kay toay messages sa cellphone nga ga-away sila sa iyang uyab (The suspect has suicidal instinct and his criminal action can be considered as premeditated since there were messages in his cellphone wherein he and his lover fought),” said Viñas, adding Talisayan will also be charged in court with multiple physical injury and damage to property.
Police said Talisayan was married in his hometown in Davao del Norte but has a girlfriend in Bukidnon while he was staying in Tablon, Cagayan de Oro City, working as truck driver of El Raro Farm Corporation which provides trucking services for Gamma Foods Corporation.
The 30-year-old Talisayan was with his older brother Felix, 32 when he drove the truck, 9 p.m. on Palm Sunday from the garage in Tablon to the city proper.
They stormed the national highway in over 100 kilometers per hour speed leading to multiple crashes.
What even more surprising, Viñas said, was that after hitting the family-owned motorcycle boarded by Ronie Abrio and his three minor children - Kenneth, Sophia and Stephanie - who all perished, the driver accelerated the truck as if nothing happened and crashed into a “motorela” that claimed the lives of passengers Mae Bonior and Vanessa Tadlas.
With the truck’s front head destroyed, the younger Talisayan had continued traversing the highway and banged another motorcycle which resulted to the death of Vevine Nacaya.
Those hurt in successive accidents were Kristel Anne Moldez, Runie Llubia, Kent Felicilda and Kurt Angel Buhawe.
“Naa gyud siya'y suicidal instinct kay kung wala pa mihunong na unta siya sa unang bangga pero gi-accelerate naman hinoon siya (He really have a suicidal instinct since if he doesn’t, he should be able to stop after the first accident but he accelerated instead),” Viñas further said.
The suspect owned responsibility to the text messages, though he insists that killing people was not his intention.
Freddie said he drank too many that he could no longer remember what had happened on the roads.
“Tinuod sa wala pa, sige nako s’ya (hon) hinadlokon nga ibangga nako ang truck kay sige ko niya awayon na-timing nga nabangga gyud hinoon (Before this happened, I always threaten my lover (hon) that I will be involved in an accident since she always fight me and this time it actually happened),” Freddie said.
Freddie also said he wanted his brother, who served as his truck helper, be excluded in the lawsuit.
The suspect repeatedly asked the victims’ families for forgiveness.
“Pasayloon lang ko kay wala gyud ko kabalo sa akong nabuhat pero dili nako intention gyud ang hitabo (Please forgive me since I have no idea what I did but it is not my intention to hurt anyone),” Freddie said.
