Traffic cop directing traffic found at fault on 3-car collision

A police officer, who was directing traffic flow at the Sugar King Monument intersection in Garapan, turned out to be the cause of a three-vehicle collision in the area.

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Claudio K. Norita and DPS Traffic Section chief Sgt. Thomas Blas disclosed yesterday to the media that the second investigation determined that it was the traffic officer’s fault contrary to the first report.

On behalf of DPS Norita apologized to John Terlaje, the driver of one of the two damaged vehicles, as the first preliminary report cited him as at fault in the crash.

“I want to apologize to Mr. Terlaje and his family because both him and his wife and their children were in the car at the time,” the commissioner said, adding that he also apologized to Mr. Guevarra, the driver of the second vehicle.

Norita said they will withhold the officer’s name because he will be subjected to internal or administrative investigation.

Norita said a three-car collision that included a police vehicle, occurred during an XTERRA event last March 8 at the Sugar King Monument intersection.

Norita said there was a traffic officer directing traffic in the area at the time.

“The collision resulted in having a police car damaged also. The operator of vehicle 3, Mr. Terlaje, had been cited as the cause of the accident,” he said.

The commissioner said later on as it was brought to DPS attention, Sgt. Blas conducted another investigation into the crash.

“In the end result, it revealed that the officer who was conducting traffic had caused the crash rather than Mr. Terlaje,” he pointed out.

Blas said DPS received the report about the incident at 9:50am.

Blas said since there was a big event (XTERRA) at the time there were officers posted along Chalan Pale Arnold Road (Middle Road) by Sugar King to control the flow of traffic and let the athletes cross the intersection.

Blas said prior to the crash, the officer had stopped the vehicles on both southbound traffic—the inside and outside lanes.

At the same time the officer stopped the vehicle that was heading north in the inside lane.

The driver of the car that he stopped in the inside southbound lane indicated he was going to make a left turn.

Blas said the officer turned over to the outer northbound lane and from a distance gave a signal and assumed that the operator of the vehicle acknowledged him and was preparing to stop.

The officer then turned around and made a signal of the southbound inside lane vehicle to go ahead and make its left turn.

“And as that vehicle made its left turn, the car that he (officer) assumed to stop continued north and struck the vehicle that was making the left turn,” Blas said.

Due to the impact, one of the vehicles also struck the police car that was also at the intersection coming from the Gold’s Gym area.

“So we had a three-car collision,” he said.

Terlaje was the driver of the vehicle that was heading north in the outside lane.

The first preliminary report indicated he was the one who struck the vehicle that was making the left turn.

Terlaje was cited in the report to being at fault for failure to obey the officer directing traffic.

“He (Terlaje) is cleared now,” Blas said.

Blas said a follow-up investigation determined that the cause of the crash was the officer’s controlling and directing traffic at the intersection.

“He failed to completely stop all traffic before he executed that left turn from that vehicle,” he said.

Blas said they found out that the traffic officer was in violation of DPS standard operating procedures and traffic supervision or controlling and directing traffic at major intersections.

“So we concluded the case on that note and the officer like the commissioner said is being dealt with administratively at this time,” Blas said.