By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A rookie police officer was declared dead on the spot after he was cut in half by a cane truck in Barangay La Granja, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, late Friday evening.

Police identified the fatality as Police Officer 1 (PO1) Rowell Baluyot, a 25-year-old resident of La Carlota City, who was assigned as a Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6) Kampilan Class trainee in Bago City.

Traffic investigators from the La Carlota City Police Station said Baluyot was heading home when he was swiped by another motorcycle, driven by 27-year-old Erwin Galon, which caused the cop to lose control of his motorcycle.

As Baluyot lay unconscious in the opposite lane of traffic, a cane truck driven by 49-year-old Romulo Pedro accidentally ran over the police officer, cutting him in half and instantly killing him.

However, instead of immediately surrendering, Pedro allegedly told a witness in the area that he would return home and surrender in the morning, although La Carlota City police later tracked down his whereabouts, where he surrendered.

In a radio interview yesterday morning, Pedro claimed he failed to notice the individual lying on the road and tried to evade the body after noticing the victim.

Both Pedro and Galon face vehicular manslaughter charges and are presently detained at the La Carlota City Police Station./DGB, WDJ