Nissan Navara driver hit by train now faces fine

The ordeal of the driver of a Nissan Navara hit by a train Friday morning is not yet over. The driver, Jerome Brieva, was fortunate to have escaped with no injuries, but he will still face charges over the incident.

The driver, a 36-year-old project coordinator of a construction firm, was charged with reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property, said SPO4 Sergio Macaraig, the Manila District Traffic Enforcement Unit investigator in charge of the case.

Brieva, who was driving a gray Nissan Navara (TOQ 389) on the southbound lane of Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Daang Bakal, Tondo, had earlier stopped before Antipolo Street to let a westbound train pass.

But as he crossed the street when the train had gone, he was hit by an eastbound train.

“He was trapped in the middle of the railroad tracks,” Macaraig said in a phone interview. “Traffic was bad at that time so he couldn’t maneuver out of the train’s way.”

Macaraig noted Brieva had driven onto the train tracks despite the fact that the warning signs were still active. The boom gate in the area, meant to keep vehicles out of the tracks when a train passes, had gone up after the first train went by.

When the second train hit him, it dragged his pickup for several meters before it was able to come to a stop.

His vehicle was a total wreck, its left side crumpled, and at least one of the car’s tires had fallen off.  Brieva was unhurt.

Macaraig said the charges filed against Brieva would mean a fine of P2,000. There is no jail term for the offense.

With report by Nathaniel R. Melican