Chiang Mai: Two kindergarten kids crushed to death as school bus reverses over them

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Chiang Mai: Two kindergarten kids crushed to death as school bus reverses over them

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

Two six year olds died on their way home from kindergarten on Tuesday after a school bus reversed over them .

 

The driver is in police custody charged with negligence. 

 

Surachai Rakmanut, 66, had picked up 20 children in a yellow Isuzu truck used as school transport from the Mae Pang kindergarten in Phrao district. 

 

But on an incline the vehicle developed a problem and children started to jump off. Two did not clear the vehicle as it rolled back and were crushed. 

 

They were named as Thananop Laokho and Saengchai Sae-mee, both just six. 

 

Thai Rath said it was a heart wrenching scene as the two little ones were dead in a pool of blood in their school uniforms with their school bags. 

 

Surachai has been charged with negligence. 

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-02-27

[RotBenz8888]

Would never let my children travel on those death traps with mad drunken drivers. Just dreadful to read another of these stories.

[seajae]

whatever happened to using the breaks to stop it rolling or using the hand brake, these drivers are idiots, he would have known the kids would be getting off but did bugger all to stop it rolling, should be charged with manslaughter at a minimum

[worgeordie]

RIP little ones, 

regards Worgeordie

[ThaiPauly]

Oh this is a tragedy..It tears my heart apart to think that two 6 year old children will never have the chance to enjoy their lives.

RotBenz is correct, the bus hardly looks to be roadworthy, (although that may be a file pic) but nevertheless these buses should be particularly well maintained as they are carrying very precious cargos every day.

 

I don't like to see young children clinging to the back of Songtels either, they are just accidents waiting to happen, it would not be allowed in the west.

 

RIP little ones????

[Mavideol]

R.I.P little ones!!

where was the school bus supervisor or there was no supervisor, what a waste of human life based on irresponsibility

[sammieuk1]

I have a 4 year old at school in Chiang Mai and stress just about every hour he is there until one of us picks him up so much so the Mrs has to get the teacher to send current photos of him and location ????

[Just1Voice]

Pi$$ poor maintenance on the bus, combined with a pi$$ poor driving skills by the driver = death of 2 children.  They should not only charge the driver for negligence causing death, but also the owners of the bus as well, and hit them with the maximum punishment the law allows.  

[darksidedog]

Yet another tragedy on the roads and yet more innocent lives lost. The vehicles used to transport huge numbers of kids around are often a clapped out totally unsafe rustheap, making accidents like this tragedies just waiting to happen. There seems neither the recognition of the problem or the will to do anything about it, meaning such awful news is bound to occur again and again.

RIP to the young ones killed. If the driver was indeed negligent one can only hope he will receive a very harsh punishment for his actions.

 

[EricTh]

With the amount of bad driving I've observed in Thailand, this is not shocking. I've seen

 

1. Cars still drive through red-lights 1 minute after light turned red.

 

2. Motorbikes driving on opposite side of road because they don't want to make a u-turn just ahead.

 

3. Motorbikes cutting lanes on opposite side of road even though it is double line. I nearly crashed into one of  these. These girls didn't wear any helmet either.

 

4. Motor vehicles making a u-turn on highway even when there are motorists still coming

 

Safety is never in some people's mind until something tragic happens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thaiguzzi]

15 minutes ago, ThaiPauly said:

it would not be allowed in the west.

There is a lot of stuff over here not allowed in the West.

Does'nt make it right or wrong.

Or better or worse.

This is a tragic accident and until more details are released, best not to speculate.

RIP to the two young children.

Awful story.

[Dmaxdan]

All these school vehicles need another adult on board to supervise the kids. That should be the law. Nobody can concentrate on driving and watch their passengers at the same time, especially if they are young children. Terrible tragedies like this are all too common here, yet nobody seems to know or care how to avoid them. R.I.P little ones, you deserved better.  

 

 

[Essex Reject]

As anyone said 'this could happen anywhere' yet?

 

It scares the life out of me bringing kids up in this country.

[300sd]

A school bus that disembarks from the back! Nothing normal in this country. It's shameful.

 

Rest in peace children and if you do come back, be it to a country who cherishes young people.

[toofarnorth]

35 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Yet another tragedy on the roads and yet more innocent lives lost. The vehicles used to transport huge numbers of kids around are often a clapped out totally unsafe rustheap, making accidents like this tragedies just waiting to happen. There seems neither the recognition of the problem or the will to do anything about it, meaning such awful news is bound to occur again and again.

RIP to the young ones killed. If the driver was indeed negligent one can only hope he will receive a very harsh punishment for his actions.

 

I am with you re your last line.  ' If the driver was indeed  negligent.'  Maybe he was just the driver , brakes failed ( as they do here ) after that piece of old crap stalled , it ran back over two little ones.  I do think the owner of that school bus has more to do with this than the driver going by all we know so far.

[Essex Reject]

40 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

There is a lot of stuff over here not allowed in the West.

Does'nt make it right or wrong.

Or better or worse.

This is a tragic accident and until more details are released, best not to speculate.

RIP to the two young children.

Awful story.

Oh look, another apologist. Give me one, just one, example of anywhere in the West where school children have been run over and killed by their OWN school bus?

 

It's an utter disgrace. Don't try to defend it.

[AhFarangJa]

1 minute ago, toofarnorth said:

I am with you re your last line.  ' If the driver was indeed  negligent.'  Maybe he was just the driver , brakes failed ( as they do here ) after that piece of old crap stalled , it ran back over two little ones.  I do think the owner of that school bus has more to do with this than the driver going by all we know so far.

I tend to agree. Reading the OP it states the bus developed a problem on a hill, and started to roll back. The children possibly started to jump off in fright.

In my eyes the school is negligent for using an un roadworthy vehicle, and also for not having an adult supervisor in the back to take care of the children. 

R.I.P. to the innocent who sadly always end up the losers.

[geriatrickid]

45 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

All these school vehicles need another adult on board to supervise the kids. That should be the law. Nobody can concentrate on driving and watch their passengers at the same time, especially if they are young children. Terrible tragedies like this are all too common here, yet nobody seems to know or care how to avoid them. R.I.P little ones, you deserved better.  

Correct. Very common in the developed world for a school bus with very young kids.

[Essex Reject]

1 minute ago, geriatrickid said:

Correct. Very common in the developed world for a school bus with very young kids.

To be fair a lot of schools here do do it.

[thaiguzzi]

10 minutes ago, Essex Reject said:

Oh look, another apologist. Give me one, just one, example of anywhere in the West where school children have been run over and killed by their OWN school bus?

 

It's an utter disgrace. Don't try to defend it.

I'm not.

But YOU give me one example HERE where this happened before.

Let alone on a regular basis.

It's a terrible, tragic accident.

And i'm sure everybody involved, inc the driver is hurting.

 

[jak2002003]

54 minutes ago, Essex Reject said:

As anyone said 'this could happen anywhere' yet?

 

It scares the life out of me bringing kids up in this country.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/six-children-die-chattanooga-school-bus-crash-driver-arrested-a7431736.html

 

This stuff can happen in any country.  Don't start the old Thailand bashing!  

[AhFarangJa]

58 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

Pi$$ poor maintenance on the bus, combined with a pi$$ poor driving skills by the driver = death of 2 children.  They should not only charge the driver for negligence causing death, but also the owners of the bus as well, and hit them with the maximum punishment the law allows.  

Unfortunately, therein lays the problem.............we all know what is going to happen...........The School principal will do a tearful photo op with a big Wai, and a fancy bunch of flowers, all the while professing untold grief and a heavy heart, followed by a 500 Baht fine, 10,000 Baht compensation for each child, and a promise to address the situation. 

The solution.........Have all school buses registered and regularly inspected, ALL school buses to be as built for purpose, not "Converted" pick up trucks. correct seating, with a specified number of seats fitted with safety belts. Adult supervision at ALL times. Not down to the driver occasionally peeking into the rear view mirror. 

I am the first to admit that the above is but a forlorn hope at the moment in a third world backward society that is Thailand, and that is not a bash, but a simple truth. However, I keep asking myself how many more deaths are needed before the so called educated people in authority get off their collective behinds and actually do something about it.

Children, especially the youngest ones, are dependent on adults for their well being, guidance, and education. Unfortunately here they see how things work, and blindly follow along in blissful ignorance until adult hood, whereupon, as most end up as just joe public they make the same mistakes as their former carers.

[sammieuk1]

If a corruption free government (seriously) gets elected I would like to propose some beneficial and radical changes.

 

Its blindingly clear Thais are no good at driving , risk assessment, and duty of care maintenance of vehicles especially to and from school. 

 

Sure now that farang drivers should be actively encouraged to take over theses easy tasks as a way to residency and hassle free immigration.

 

They say you can't get an unskilled job a Thai can do I would say look at the daily stats its clear they cant and are woefully under equipped in any perceived danger ????    

[Happy Grumpy]

1 hour ago, seajae said:

these drivers are idiots

No, they're all idiots.

 

The drivers.

The teachers.

The directors.

The police.

The parents. 

[richard_smith237]

51 minutes ago, toofarnorth said:

I am with you re your last line.  ' If the driver was indeed  negligent.'  Maybe he was just the driver , brakes failed ( as they do here ) after that piece of old crap stalled , it ran back over two little ones.  I do think the owner of that school bus has more to do with this than the driver going by all we know so far.

 

This is a tragic story but highlights how backwards Thailand is regarding safety... the make do and get by attitude it admirable but its also choking society - those in positions of decision making power don’t care while at the same ensuring they are never impacted by such inconvenience as riding in deadly busses... 

 

 

 

My Son was going on a School Trip (at 4 yrs old - to the local Butterfly farm in Chatuchak Bangkok).... I enquired to the school as to their Transport Policy and Child Seat Policy... 

 

There response was quite poor IMO. The implied that if I wanted a Child Seat we could bring in our own (which we did) and then forwarded our enquiry on to Montri (Bus company) who responded with their policy.

 

Ultimately this outsourcing removed the school from accountability. 

 

The one of Montri’s Policy’s which shocked me was that they would breathalise their drivers each morning and if drunk they’d receive a 1 day suspension !!!! - 1 DAY !!!! Not fired etc.. just the day off to get over their hangover !!! - and this is the most reputable bus company in Bangkok. 

 

My Wife drives my son to and from School each day - I will not allow him to take the school mini-van transport until he’s about 11 years old (he’s 5 now).

 

 

[Greenside]

I agree with your post but have to wonder why you feel that your son will be in any less danger when he's older.  I wouldn't let my children go to school and back on the usual type of minibus or songthaw transport under any circumstances, but when they are on a class trip it becomes harder to manage without making them feel excluded.  Let's face it though, no matter where you are or what you drive, travelling by road here is orders of magnitude more dangerous than virtually all the countries that us expats come from.

 

Very, very sad for everyone involved.

[Vacuum]

3 hours ago, Essex Reject said:

It scares the life out of me bringing kids up in this country.

And still you're doing it. Why?

[Essex Reject]

4 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

And still you're doing it. Why?

Things take time, we ain't talking about nipping round the shops for some milk and bread.

 

Settlement visa for wife

Schools for kids

A job back home

Somewhere to live...

 

I am also waiting for an investment to mature to give me more liquidity, which I'm sure you'll agree will be very much needed.

 

What are your thoughts on it?

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, seajae said:

whatever happened to using the breaks to stop it rolling or using the hand brake, these drivers are idiots, he would have known the kids would be getting off but did bugger all to stop it rolling, should be charged with manslaughter at a minimum

Brake failure?

[mok199]

Remembering a few months ago when the school minivan driver locked a sleeping child inside his van for the night where she suffocated. excuses ,blame and money cannot make this disgusting lazy lack of responsibility go away...Saddly when you trust your child to someone in Thailand..this can happen....