Darwinite: Illinois teen dies of injuries weeks after falling off moving vehicle while playing "Stuntman"
Shrike!
By Lolly Bowean
Tribune staff reporter
July 26, 2006
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/lake/chi-0607260085jul26,1,6260281.story
Just for fun, close friends Gerard Manalo and Hermine Carating would
often play a game they called "Stuntman," where one of the
18-year-olds would stand on the bumper of Manalo's van--holding on
tightly--while the other drove the vehicle slowly down local streets,
police said.
But on July 11, the game turned tragic when Manalo fell from the back
of the moving vehicle and struck his head on the pavement as his
friend drove down a Lansing street, Lansing police said. On Monday,
Manalo died from his injuries, officials said.
"They were doing what they normally did," said Lansing Police Sgt.
John Koch. "It certainly wasn't an intentional act on either party. It
is a tragic accident."
Carating of the 3600 block of 192nd Street has been cited for driving
too fast for the conditions and misdemeanor reckless conduct, Koch said.
"This is the first and only occurrence of this kind I've ever heard
of," Koch said.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. in the 3600 block of 193rd
Street, just blocks from where Carating lives. When police arrived,
they found Manalo lying in the street, Koch said.
Carating told police that Manalo, who lived in Burnham, had been
riding on the bumper for only about a minute before he fell, Koch said.
"According to the driver, they regularly did this," he said. "It was
Gerard's turn to ride in the back, and unfortunately this happened."
The two had been friends since 2nd grade, police said.
They were in a band and often got together in the evenings to practice
their music, said Eloisa Manalo, Gerard's mother. On the night of the
accident, they likely went to get something to eat after practicing,
she said.
She was on her way to work when she learned her son was in the
hospital. She still doesn't know the details of the accident, Eloisa
Manalo said Tuesday.
"Shocked is not even the right word," she said. "I don't have any
answers."
Gerard Manalo recently graduated ranked No. 7 in his class at Mt.
Carmel High School in Chicago, his mother said. He had planned to
enroll at the University of Chicago in the fall and study pharmacy.
A stellar student, Manalo had been accepted to several other colleges,
including Purdue and Loyola. But he wanted to stay close to family,
Eloisa Manalo said.
"He was a wonderful kid and he never gave us any trouble," she said.
"From grade school he was on the honor roll and he was a member of the
National Honor Society from 8th grade."
Outside of school, Gerard Manalo loved to play the piano and tinker
with computers, his mother said. On his MySpace.com Web site, he
shared music he had composed. He also was involved in a local band
called The Encyclopedias, according to the MySpace site.
Eloisa Manalo said her family is trying to cope with the teenager's
death. Gerard was Eloisa's youngest child and the only child she had
with her current husband, Gerry, she said.
As she spoke about her son, her husband sat close by weeping.
"I don't know how this happened or why," she said. "I'm trying to do
the best I can under this tough situation."
--
There are more love songs than anything else.
If songs could make you do something we'd all
love one another. - Frank Zappa
DGH
Sounds like a "Darwin Award" candidate.
mack
"Shrike!" <cal...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:44C8A3FC...@newsguy.com...
> Eloisa Manalo said her family is trying to cope with the teenager's death.
> Gerard was Eloisa's youngest child and the only child she had with her
> current husband, Gerry, she said.
>
> As she spoke about her son, her husband sat close by weeping.
>
> "I don't know how this happened or why," she said. "I'm trying to do the
> best I can under this tough situation."
How it happened is a no-brainer, and "why" is no more difficult. Her son
was a no-brainer. Scholastic achievement is no guarantee that an 18 year
old won't do something as senseless as riding on a van bumper.