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Korat bus crash: Survivor shattered by tragic ending to leisure outing


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Survivor shattered by tragic ending to leisure outing

By YUTTHANA |KIATDAMNOEN-NGAM, 
JAKKAPONG RAWIWAN, 
PRASIT TANGPRASERT 
THE NATION

 

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A SURVIVOR shuddered at the thought of her close brush with death amid the mourning for victims of the tragic double-decker bus crash on Wednesday night in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
 

The accident claimed the lives of 18 people, all of them from Kalasin province’s Muang district. 

 

“This was my first visit to another province,” said 55-year-old Kalasin woman Somjit Jampasri, who narrowly escaped death. 

 

There was a cheerful atmosphere in the coach, with people smiling and enjoying themselves listening to music, as revealed by video clips uploaded by passengers before the crash and now circulating on social networks.

 

Somjit, who was among the 32 injured passengers, said she and 12 relatives had joined the tour group for a vacation to the beachside town of Chanthaburi, but tragically she lost eight relatives in the crash. 

 

“The vacation trip turned into a devastating experience for me. Many of my relatives were killed. I saw bodies and blood everywhere,” she said.

 

Before the crash in Wang Nam Khieo district, Somjit recalled the bus shaking and veering from side to side. She heard someone shout “the brake isn’t working”. On an impulse, Somjit said she pulled her 12-year-old nephew Thewarat Wilachai into her arms as they rushed to sit on the upper deck to brace for impact. The instinctive action helped save her and the boy. “I prayed all of us would survive,” she said.

 

The group’s tour guide, Sompit Sutthichum, 51, and her family members – her husband Prayong Wangpikul, 50, and their two nephews – died in the accident. 

 

A relative of Sompit, Pairoj Wanpukil, 58, told Kalasin Governor Kraisorn Kongchalard, who visited the victims’ families yesterday morning, that their whole family had been killed in the crash. “The family had good things going for them before this crash. It was most unfortunate,” Pairoj said.

 

“This is possibly the most devastating road crash ever in the province,” Kraisorn said. He also assured the deceased victims’ relatives that the Kalasin branch of the Office of Insurance Commission had reported the bus’s insurance company would pay Bt650,000 compensation to the families of each of the deceased.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30341522

 
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-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-23
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5 hours ago, webfact said:

Before the crash in Wang Nam Khieo district, Somjit recalled the bus shaking and veering from side to side. She heard someone shout “the brake isn’t working”. On an impulse, Somjit said she pulled her 12-year-old nephew Thewarat Wilachai into her arms as they rushed to sit on the upper deck to brace for impact

Bus shaking? ABS in action, perhaps?

 

A very sad story..... seemingly made worse by folk not sitting with seat belts fastened.

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No minivan, bus or double deck bus should be allowed to operate after 11pm and before 6am.

For any such vehicle found doing so, the owner should be fined Bt1 million if no accident is involved. If the vehicle is involved in an accident regardless of any injuries, deaths or cause, that fine should be Bt10 million with 1 year sentence.

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 On an impulse, Somjit said she pulled her 12-year-old nephew Thewarat Wilachai into her arms as they rushed to sit on the upper deck to brace for impact. 

 

Was this a true double-decker with passengers on two levels or the usual configuration of baggage on the low level and pax on the upper?

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Do it the way a working Thai would respond to. Pay a 200 baht bonus to every long-distance bus driver who completes his shift without an accident. How to pay for it. Hike bus fares 5 baht. I'd pay quadruple that to be assured of a sane driver.         Customers using vans might have to pay 30 baht each to get the driver to slow down and not tailgate or pass on curves.

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54 minutes ago, Redline said:

Your government doesn’t care lady.  I feel terrible for you, but victims need to do something about this

and the populace has been "trained" for 70+ years to accept this , failure to do so = the  full wrath of the Thai"legal" system or  just plain  intimidation yet they still need  le majeste laws/ defamation laws, what ARE they so afraid  of.............oh yeah , loss of control, then end of their glorious pilfering of their subordinates. A  vile society i.m.o.

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On 3/23/2018 at 11:44 AM, toofarnorth said:

Hey you can't expect them to wear seat belts when a village party is going on . Also take a look at drivers in tatty old pickups , how many wear seat belts , how many bike riders put their hands up to shield their eyes from the sun rather than wear shades or a crash hat with visor.  Next week another bus crash and ..........same same every time.

And theyll all be "reborn" so in the end.....it just doesnt matter!! Fantastic system theyve created.

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On 3/23/2018 at 2:50 PM, PETERTHEEATER said:

 On an impulse, Somjit said she pulled her 12-year-old nephew Thewarat Wilachai into her arms as they rushed to sit on the upper deck to brace for impact. 

 

Was this a true double-decker with passengers on two levels or the usual configuration of baggage on the low level and pax on the upper?

 A doubledecker with stairways to the second floor. 

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