Video: Woman driver "definitely to blame" after death of TV host and store manager in Chiang Mai

[webfact]

Video: Woman driver "definitely to blame" after death of TV host and store manager in Chiang Mai

 

 

CCTV footage showed the accident that claimed the lives of 28 year old TV host and stylist Jatuphat "Centimeter" Khemnak and "Next to Normal" store manager Supakit Kerdsam, 30. 

 

Police said the driver of the black Toyota - earlier named as 25 year old Wichitra Pukboonreuang - was definitely at fault, reported Workpoint News.

 

Picture: Workpoint TV

 

She was going straight on when she should have turned, said the cops. 

 

She has been charged with negligent driving causing death and damage. 

 

The CCTV footage showed the CRV cut across the Toyota and end up in the Cholaprathan Klong. 

 

The video offered condolences to the families of the two men. 

 

Source: Workpoint TV

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-01-04

 

[saigonsunset]

How did they not manage to break before falling down? The collission was hardly a massive impact that would knock you out. Amazing ...

[johng]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

Police said the driver of the black Toyota - earlier named as 25 year old Wichitra Pukboonreuang - was definitely at fault

I can't agree with that...the CRV driver  should have seen the vehicle in the right most lane

and should have been in the right most lane to make the turn...not cut across the other lane.

 

[Youlike]

2 minutes ago, johng said:

I can't agree with that...the CRV driver  should have seen the vehicle in the right most lane

and should have been in the right most lane to make the turn...not cut across the other lane.

 

I see this all the time...maybe there were no good roadsigns for the right turn? Thai start steering before checking their mirrors..that's what you get from a 500 baht driverlicense.

[chrisandsu]

20 minutes ago, johng said:

I can't agree with that...the CRV driver  should have seen the vehicle in the right most lane

and should have been in the right most lane to make the turn...not cut across the other lane.

 

100% right . The Honda driver was completely at fault . I think this may of been lost in translation somewhere .

[kannot]

39 minutes ago, saigonsunset said:

How did they not manage to break before falling down? The collission was hardly a massive impact that would knock you out. Amazing ...

yet everyday the  Thai govt is  telling you "speed kills" and every time i see it its sheer  stupidity and lack of concentration...........wait until theres a  speed  camera on every corner.....it  will make no difference at all except to the coffers, speed  really isnt the  issue.

Edited January 4, 2019 by kannot

[usacb500biker]

1,000,000'S  of THAI"S have no Drivers LIC...  45,000 ticketed in one DAY..  For no helmet... Good job  R T P....

[ezzra]

Strange.. no attempts were made by the CRV to either hit the breaks or steer away from this disaster that was completely avoidable...

[South]

According to the police report on the news last night, the CRV was in the correct lane. The driver of the black Toyota was in a lane with orange chevrons across it, positioning her in a non-existent lane. Was she queue jumping as she was obviously attempting to go straight on? Why the CRV couldn't stop after what was a fairly minor bump though is a mystery. 

 

Still, the driver of the CRV should have checked to see all was clear before starting his manoeuvre. If he had, he would still be here now. So, basically, both at fault and unfortunately two people have lost their lives because of that. But, hey ho, pretty much normal driving here.

[Phuketshrew]

Can anyone familiar with this intersection clarify? I an earlier report I read that the left most lane was for U Turning and the one next was for a right turn. If the CRV was in the correct lane to turn right and the Toyota was barrelin up the inside but intending to go straight on then she was clearly in the wrong. I don't understand why the CRV driver did not take evasive action. Surely the natural reaction would have been to veer to the left and keep going straight on?

[marko kok prong]

Interesting that it was the heavier vehicle that went over,but agree with above posters seems little evidence of braking,would not have thought the collision would be enough to damage breaking system,not sure where located on this model,maybe they just froze,where as anyone with good driver training would have instictivley braked.

[hakancnx]

The CRV didn't indicate any right turn. 

[terminatorchiangmai]

The crv was cutting corners , but the other car was driving way to fast to make a u turn anyway

[Gramps]

1 hour ago, johng said:

I can't agree with that...the CRV driver  should have seen the vehicle in the right most lane

and should have been in the right most lane to make the turn...not cut across the other lane.

 

Agreed. The driver of the Toyota may have been technically at fault but it's a common practice. I drive past this intersection regularly and there is no way I'd attempt to turn right from the centre lane.

[PETERTHEEATER]

The barrier impacted by the CRV was already cracked (from a previous impact?) and with little or no rebar was little more than a pedestrian barrier,

[PETERTHEEATER]

Looking at the video in slo-mo you can see that the horizontal beam of the barrier simply shears away from the vertical legs almost in one piece. It doesn't appear to break at the cracked point. No metal connection between the hoorizontal beam and the legs just a spot of cement to tack it on?

[thenewgoo]

A classic lazy Thai turn by the CRV - should be on the right hand side of the lane. Hard to tell if it was indicating a right turn. The other car going too fast. The rest is a scenario that could and does happen daily here.

[kcpattaya]

1 hour ago, johng said:

I can't agree with that...the CRV driver  should have seen the vehicle in the right most lane

and should have been in the right most lane to make the turn...not cut across the other lane.

 

Correct: The Honda CRV driver cut-off the Toyota.
The reason she is been charged with negligent driving is probably because she's not a "celebrity"....

[cardinalblue]

Unless there is 2 marked lanes on bridge, only one lane can legally turn so therefore a car should not turn from the center lane if there a right turn lane...

 

i see many times cars turn from a center lane trying to speed by the right hand turning car....

 

in this case the right hand lane doesn’t turn right colliding with speeding center lane car trying to cut the corner...thus his foot was on the gas and thus goes thru barrier rather than breaking...

 

both at fault and my guess the lines are poorly marked or doesn’t exist for a center lane right hand turn

[irwinfc]

three things that could mitigate wichitra's (driver of the toyota) are 1) she was on the correct lane, 2) she could have also fallen into the canal as a result of the collision, and 3) that barrier was made out of wafer or cardboard. however, wichitra also drove fast which is a point against her.

 

i checked street view and took some screenshots. the yellow hatches on the innermost lane is also marked for U-turn, while those on the middle lane are supposed to go straight.

[EL159]

1 hour ago, Phuketshrew said:

Can anyone familiar with this intersection clarify? I an earlier report I read that the left most lane was for U Turning and the one next was for a right turn. If the CRV was in the correct lane to turn right and the Toyota was barrelin up the inside but intending to go straight on then she was clearly in the wrong. I don't understand why the CRV driver did not take evasive action. Surely the natural reaction would have been to veer to the left and keep going straight on?

In this area, there are TWO lanes, then an area next to the canal signified by a yellow line and which is only half a lane wide. Driving inside the yellow is supposed to be forbidden, I never go in it, but increasingly people have started to use the illegal narrow area as a third lane. Highly dangerous, as when you re in the second lane, when you see a vehicle illegally coming up behind you inside the yellow, you have to move to the left to let them through otherwise they would scrape the side of your car.

 

Of course, theres ZERO policing of this very regular manouvre. In fact, the police often have roadside checks for tax, helmets etc in full view of this "third lane" manouvre but they do nothing whatsoever, just continue collecting the 500 bahts! 

 

In this case, the CRV was definitely in the correct lane, and the dark car was speeding inside the yellow so was entirely 100% to blame. Those of us who live here are aware of this "yellow lane menace" and watching for it all the time, but perhaps the deceased were out of towners and wouldnt be aware?

[1337markus]

2 hours ago, Youlike said:

I see this all the time...maybe there were no good roadsigns for the right turn? Thai start steering before checking their mirrors..that's what you get from a 500 baht driverlicense.

All Thais need at least 2 lanes or to do a turn or Uturn. Cant blame the vehicles as mine 2 dont need such a huge space. So yes the 500 baht license rings true here.

[Khunbilly]

2 hours ago, saigonsunset said:

How did they not manage to break before falling down? The collission was hardly a massive impact that would knock you out. Amazing ...

The driver might have been injured when the other car ran into it, didn't think to (or couldn't) break in time. 

[irwinfc]

23 minutes ago, EL159 said:

In this area, there are TWO lanes, then an area next to the canal signified by a yellow line and which is only half a lane wide. Driving inside the yellow is supposed to be forbidden, I never go in it, but increasingly people have started to use the illegal narrow area as a third lane. Highly dangerous, as when you re in the second lane, when you see a vehicle illegally coming up behind you inside the yellow, you have to move to the left to let them through otherwise they would scrape the side of your car.

 

Of course, theres ZERO policing of this very regular manouvre. In fact, the police often have roadside checks for tax, helmets etc in full view of this "third lane" manouvre but they do nothing whatsoever, just continue collecting the 500 bahts! 

 

In this case, the CRV was definitely in the correct lane, and the dark car was speeding inside the yellow so was entirely 100% to blame. Those of us who live here are aware of this "yellow lane menace" and watching for it all the time, but perhaps the deceased were out of towners and wouldnt be aware?

i also don't drive on that lane. probably to avoid confusion, authorities should rub out the U-turn marking on that lane.

[EL159]

3 minutes ago, irwinfc said:

i also don't drive on that lane. probably to avoid confusion, authorities should rub out the U-turn marking on that lane.

Actually, they should do away with the yellow "lane" totally. Rub out the yellow and make the other two lanes a bit wider. This has been a menace now for about three years. Maybe the authorities will now be provoked into doing something.

[dotpoom]

2 hours ago, johng said:

I can't agree with that...the CRV driver  should have seen the vehicle in the right most lane

and should have been in the right most lane to make the turn...not cut across the other lane.

 

As you say....I am amazed at how many Thai drivers do exactly as seen here. If they are turning into a shop or a gas station or whatever ...they never seem to get into the proper lane before making the turn. On thousands of occasions I see them making the turn from the 2nd lane out. God help those on motorbikes who would not see an indicator  (if one was used) or more lightly be in the drivers "blind spot".

   Have had more than a few near misses myself.

  What can I say only ...May the deceased RIP.

[Stoker58]

3 hours ago, saigonsunset said:

How did they not manage to break before falling down? The collission was hardly a massive impact that would knock you out. Amazing ...

  Don’t you know? All road accidents in Thailand are caused by brake failure. 

[Formaleins]

3 hours ago, saigonsunset said:

How did they not manage to break before falling down? The collission was hardly a massive impact that would knock you out. Amazing ...

My thoughts exactly, guess they just had a spell of Karma, many people have walked away from much worse without even a scratch! Difficult to see from the front though, where all that concrete ended up, a face full of that and you are going to need more than those diamond studs to put your teeth right.

[No1]

1 hour ago, kcpattaya said:

Correct: The Honda CRV driver cut-off the Toyota.
The reason she is been charged with negligent driving is probably because she's not a "celebrity"....

@kcpattayaThe Honda CRV was in the correct lane for turning right. The black Toyota was passing on an orange or yellow marked shoulder where nobody is allowed to drive (yet everyone does). Now some people might think it is smart to use the orange marked shoulder for a right turn. That might be the case although illegal. But going straight on a shoulder when left of it is a lane for turning left, is outright stupid and we have seen the consequences

Open Google Street View to find out for yourself.

Oh... and here how it was in a caption of Street View in 2011 (Toyota driver would have been right to turn right but not to go straight)

[No1]

35 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

As you say....I am amazed at how many Thai drivers do exactly as seen here. If they are turning into a shop or a gas station or whatever ...they never seem to get into the proper lane before making the turn. On thousands of occasions I see them making the turn from the 2nd lane out. God help those on motorbikes who would not see an indicator  (if one was used) or more lightly be in the drivers "blind spot".

   Have had more than a few near misses myself.

  What can I say only ...May the deceased RIP.

@dotpoomThe driver of the CRV was in the proper lane. The right hand side is a clearly marked shoulder (not a lane by no means) where nobody should be, not for turning right and not for driving straight at all