Artman claims fatal accident not their driver’s fault

Artman Environment Corp. claims that their truck driver was not at fault and did not cause the accident Monday in Puerto Rico, Saipan that killed Raju Bhai.

According to a source within the company who spoke on condition of anonymity since the police investigation is still ongoing, he said the driver of the dump truck and his helper, who also witnessed the incident, told him and the police a consistent story: the traffic light was green and the silver Honda Ridgeline took the turn into the marina when it wasn’t supposed to.

The source said Department of Public Safety investigators have interviewed the dump truck driver and his passenger several times since the accident last Monday and their stories never changed.

“I believe my workers. They have worked with me for a very long time and I’m confident they wouldn’t lie,” he said.

When asked about the circulating surveillance footage of the incident, the source said that you couldn’t see the traffic light to prove that the dump truck driver ran a red light, like what some people are theorizing in social media.

The source said it’s easy to believe that Artman was at fault but the light can’t be seen. It’s also possible that the silver pickup truck ran a red light.

In the surveillance footage that captured the incident, the silver Ridgeline was seen at full stop at the Puerto Rico intersection while cars were speeding past.

When there were no cars in sight, the Ridgeline took the turn into the Smiling Cove Marina. While turning in, the Artman dump truck was seen driving and then crashing into the passenger side of the Ridgeline. The impact of the crash caused Bhai and another man on the back of the puckup to fly out of the vehicle.

In a statement from DPS spokesperson Dre Pangelinan, the case is still under investigation as of 5:27pm yesterday. “At this time, the department cannot disclose any more information until this case has been completed and finalized. Once the case has been finalized we will share the findings,” he said.
The accident happened last Monday, at about 1:12pm.

Bhai, one of the passengers of the silver Ridgeline, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Commonwealth Health Center at about 1:39pm. The other occupant was treated and admitted for serious injuries. The vehicle’s driver was treated and released. The two occupants in the garbage truck were not injured.

The garbage truck was southbound before it slammed into the silver Ridgeline, which was making a left turn from the Chalan Pale Arnold intersection.