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Teen killed in Rota car crash
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Posted on Oct 17 2011
A teenager who was due to fly to Texas for boot camp died when the pickup truck he was on slammed into a power pole in Sinapalo, Rota late Sunday afternoon.
Police officer Jason Tarkong confirmed yesterday that a male teenager died, but that they are still waiting for more information about the accident from the Rota Department of Public Safety. Tarkong said investigators are still looking into information whether speeding and alcohol were factors in the fatal crash.
In a separate email to Saipan Tribune, Police Commissioner Ramon Mafnas said the accident is still under investigation and that his office is awaiting the submission of a report from Rota DPS.
“I am in contact with Rota DPS resident director Manuel Atalig in which the director reported that four persons were involved in the vehicular accident with one fatality,” Mafnas said.
Saipan Tribune learned from sources that the fatality—18-year-old Francisco Toves—was set to leave that night for Guam for military training in Texas. Sources said the accident happened at 5pm in front of the house of a court staff. Several independent sources confirmed the fatality’s identity.
Sources said that there were four occupants in the truck. Toves was in the truck’s bed with another passenger, who reportedly sustained serious injuries. The driver and the passenger in the cabin only had minor injuries, the sources said.
Sources said the truck possibly slewed sideways when it hit the pole as the bed was broken in half.
There was no information whether Toves and the passenger next to him were thrown out of the truck’s bed as a result of the impact.
Last Aug. 31, a 15-year-old boy fell from a traveling pickup truck after attending a family member’s funeral at Tanapag Cemetery on Saipan. The boy died the following day from internal injuries sustained when he hit his head from the fall. The boy, along with two family members, was reportedly riding in the back of the pickup.
Early this month, the Office of the Attorney General filed nine charges, including homicide by vehicle, against the truck’s driver.
