Video: Three dead as Pajero driver who fled scene revealed as top forestry official

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Video: Three dead as Pajero driver who fled scene revealed as top forestry official

 

Image: Daily News

 

A video from Suphanburi showed a Pajero driver do a U-turn that led to the death of three people including a six year old boy. Four people were also seriously injured.

 

The Pajero cuts in front of a white Toyota Vios causing it to swerve into a tree.

 

The driver of the Pajero just drives off as if nothing has happened. 

 

The woman who posted the footage online - Puntiwa Sanuan - said: "Did you buy your license? Take responsibility for what you have done". 

 

Yesterday the Pajero driver gave himself up to police. He is Montree Khengkhetkarn, 45, a senior forestry department official and head of a protected animal species reserve in Beung Chawak. He works for the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation in Suphanburi province.

 

He said he never saw the Vios coming and by the time he did it was too late. He fled in a panic but called the cops afterwards.

 

He apologized to the victims and their relatives and said he would take full responsibility.

 

Dead were 36 year old Prasert Atkhonghan, 22 year old Namfa Suppradermchai and Siwa Plotprong aged just six. 

 

Funeral rites are being held at three different area temples for the victims. 

 

Four people were seriously injured after the accident that happened on Malaimaen Road in the central Thai province. 

 

Montree has initially been charged with negligent driving causing death and fleeing the scene of an accident. He was let go as he had voluntarily surrendered to police.

 

The cops said that an investigation is underway and Montree may face further charges.

 

 

Source: Daily News

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-06-23

[Just1Voice]

Making a very wide U-turn, and didn't see the other car coming?????

Probably too busy texting or talking on his cell phone to pay attention to the road. 

 

[steelepulse]

Were no seat belts involved?  Doesn't look like the vios was traveling at excessive speed and I would think airbags and seatbelts would have saved everyone involved.

[keith101]

It doesn't look like he actually hit the other vehicle but he caused the accident and just drove away same as hit and run or leaving the scene of an accident?

[neeray]

May the deceased RIP and the injured make a full and rapid recovery. But the driver of the Pajero rapidly cut across multiple lanes as he was gunning it to clear the red car (as I see it). Hindsight is 20/20 but I think the white Vios would have done well to attempt a 4 wheel stop as opposed to swerving and hitting a tree; there seems to have been ample time to attempt a stop. That done, maybe there would not have been a collision.

[BEVUP]

The Vios didn't even attempt to brake

I reckon if he just hit the brakes & hit the Pajero there may of been less deaths

But speaking of the deaths the driver wasn't wearing a seat belt as he/she was thrown out the window like a bullet & you can see the body coming back down

[worgeordie]

Must have thought he was driving a tank,3 lanes to do a u-turn,

I think many Thai's are too lazy to turn the wheel,like when they

cut off the corners at junctions.

RIP the dead more senseless deaths.

 

regards worgeordie

[evadgib]

Reports yesterday said all 7 were in that car.

 

Clunk click?

[flyingtlger]

The guy looks so nonchalant, just texting or doing something on his phone like it was no big deal......Just killed 3 people including a child and seriously injured 4, I don't know about you but I'd be horrified and remorseful. 

[VocalNeal]

26 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Must have thought he was driving a tank,3 lanes to do a u-turn,

 

These large SUV's have the turning circle of a bus plus people hug the inside before turning thus increasing the projection into the oncoming lanes. In my small truck I can do a U-turn using one lane. My staff when driving need two lanes

[thequietman]

My god, that's bad driving from the Vios. Seriously, loads of room and time to make any other manoeuvre than that.

Obviously, the Pajero in the wrong but doesn't look too concerned about it. He's connected, so that's an end to that. 

[Vacuum]

32 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

Making a very wide U-turn

Yes, this is a Thai phenomenon. For some reason they can't/won't turn the steering wheel enough to make an appropriate turn.

 

[Vacuum]

10 minutes ago, thequietman said:

My god, that's bad driving from the Vios. Seriously, loads of room and time to make any other manoeuvre than that.

This is very easy to say, sitting in front of your lap/desktop.

[Vacuum]

 

Classic...  

[Dave67]

A tree is one of the worst things to hit in a car like hitting a concrete wall that doesn't move

[sweatalot]

Too many accidents at U-Turns in LOS

 

why? too many u-turns

[marko kok prong]

Agree,when i moved from the Uk to Australia i was told never swerve to avoid an animal [kangaroo's ect],if you hit a large one it may well wreck your car but,if you swerve and hit a gum tree usually it's curtains. I would suggest both parties bear some of the blame,if the vios driver had been looking ahead by that i mean anticipating what may happen,he may have slowed enough to avoid this ,to me it looked like he thought he could squeeze past on the inside,the guy making the u turn also should have been looking and waited. Anticipation and patience 2 things very few Thai driver's posses.

[Briggsy]

Looks like the Vios took the gamble, instead of emergency braking, of coming from the middle lane or the outside lane to the inside lane, assuming the Pajero Sport would do one of the two normal Thai things, i.e. stop three-quarters way through the U-turn or keep the wheel hard right and use the outside lane as an acceleration lane. The Pajero Sport did neither. The U-turn by the Pajero Sport is so useless and dangerous in so many ways that I suspect he had something like a phone in his hand preventing him from using two hands to turn the wheel whilst also distracting him.

 

As a previous poster stated, he is relatively high up in the civil service, this will just be a financial hit for him. The charges will eventually be dropped or watered down to something menial.

 

30,000 deaths a year on Thai roads ain't gonna stop any time soon.

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, neeray said:

Hindsight is 20/20 but I think the white Vios would have done well to attempt a 4 wheel stop as opposed to swerving and hitting a tree; there seems to have been ample time to attempt a stop. That done, maybe there would not have been a collision.

Many (many, many) moons ago my old and wise driving instructor told me "if someone pulls across in front of you, aim to head where they've come from, they won't be going back that way".

 

A common factor I see in this type of collision is the "victim" always ends up swerving the same way, an almost guarantee of a collision.

 

[Mister Fixit]

2 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Making a very wide U-turn, and didn't see the other car coming?????

Probably too busy texting or talking on his cell phone to pay attention to the road. 

 

 

Just as he was playing on his phone in the photo.

[Lupatria]

Wai, wai, wai...

[catman20]

2 hours ago, evadgib said:

Reports yesterday said all 7 were in that car.

 

Clunk click?

all very sad but looking at the crash im surprised people died. RIP

[wirat69]

3 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Making a very wide U-turn,

Nah... Thais need three lanes for a U-turn.... I don't understand why.....

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

The guy looks so nonchalant, just texting or doing something on his phone like it was no big deal......Just killed 3 people including a child and seriously injured 4, I don't know about you but I'd be horrified and remorseful. 

 

That nonchalance is because he knows nothing much will happen about it. And he probably thinks more about the inconvenience to himself than worrying about his victims.

[Destiny1990]

First act like a scumbag by causing and fleeing the scene and now coming in with his fake Wais

[samjaidee]

3 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

The guy looks so nonchalant, just texting or doing something on his phone like it was no big deal......Just killed 3 people including a child and seriously injured 4, I don't know about you but I'd be horrified and remorseful. 

How can you possibly know or even guess what he's doing in the photo?

 

Does he have to spend every second of every day looking remorseful just in case someone takes a photo??

[mr_lob]

it will be a 5000 baht fine and suspended sentence. Thats what the d***head truck driver got that killed 2 of my customers and my driver. The cops told us that courts always ''feel sorry'' for the accused. What about the victims?? They will NEVER learn.

[atyclb]

4 hours ago, steelepulse said:

Were no seat belts involved?  Doesn't look like the vios was traveling at excessive speed and I would think airbags and seatbelts would have saved everyone involved.

 

no need to use seat belts since no visible police checkpoints were around

[Aussieroaming]

3 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

The guy looks so nonchalant, just texting or doing something on his phone like it was no big deal......Just killed 3 people including a child and seriously injured 4, I don't know about you but I'd be horrified and remorseful. 

Cos he doesnt give a flying <deleted>

[Jim walker]

If he is as blind as he cannot see that car coming he should not be driving