Northern Irish pensioner killed after slamming into abandoned trailer in Ayutthaya

[webfact]

Northern Irish pensioner killed after slamming into abandoned trailer in Ayutthaya

 

Picture: Sanook

 

Police were called to Route 347 on Sunday where they found a white Mitsubishi van that had slammed into the back of a 12 wheel trailer attachment that had been abandoned by the side of the local road. 

 

Dead from multiple injuries in the driver's seat was 87 year old Michael from Northern Ireland who had been living in Phayathai. 

 

The accident happened at KM marker 23 heading in to Ayutthaya. 

 

Police are trying to trace the owner of the trailer that was left in a no parking zone. 

 

They think the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, reported Sanook. 

 

Koh Kert phu yai ban (a local official) Chertchai Phakheewet said that he had been alerted by locals and called the cops.

 

He said that the trailer had just been left there. 

 

Source: Sanook

 

 

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[Briggsy]

2 minutes ago, webfact said:

They think the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, reported Sanook. 

Or perhaps he just didn't see it until it was too late.

Or perhaps he did see it but did not perceive it as stationary until it was too late.

What is the basis for presuming the driver fell asleep?

[champers]

RIP Michael. No reporting about the time this incident happened to substantiate, or not, the asleep at the wheel theory.

[bluesofa]

6 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Or perhaps he just didn't see it until it was too late.

Or perhaps he did see it but did not perceive it as stationary until it was too late.

What is the basis for presuming the driver fell asleep?

"They think the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, reported Sanook."

Easy accident reporting for the police.

[watcharacters]

 

At the age of 87 he may have fallen victim to The Big Sleep

 

 

[flyingtlger]

RIP Micheal....

 

[smedly]

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

"They think the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, reported Sanook."

Easy accident reporting for the police.

does it really matter - he ran into a stationary vehicle, there could be many explanations for this 

 

RIP

[OmarZaid]

87 year olds should not be driving

[UnkleMoooose]

6 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

At the age of 87 he may have fallen victim to The Big Sleep

 

 

Well he has now. And that van was obviously a wreck before the accident.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

At the age of 87 he may have fallen victim to The Big Sleep

 

 

No he fell victim to an idiotic driver un-hitching his trailer in a no parking zone in the road with no indication that it was stationary !!!

[Burma Bill]

Quote from the Sanook link as translated into English:- "(May 12) In the afternoon of the past". This is the nearest time of the accident. At 87 years of age he may have suffered from a medical condition. RIP Ulster Man.

[joebrown]

1 hour ago, UnkleMoooose said:

Well he has now. And that van was obviously a wreck before the accident.

 

1 hour ago, UnkleMoooose said:

Well he has now. And that van was obviously a wreck before the accident.

Do you have personal knowledge as to the mechanical condition of the vehicle? IMO it appears to be in better condition than many of the mobile 'wrecks' I often see on the roads here in LOS.

[ratcatcher]

3 hours ago, OmarZaid said:

87 year olds should not be driving

Ya reckon....................

[ratcatcher]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

No he fell victim to an idiotic driver un-hitching his trailer in a no parking zone in the road with no indication that it was stationary !!!

I feel sorry to read of the death of any driver here, but there are no indications that the trailer is in a "No Parking Zone". The trailer may have been left there for a reason. One of the rules of good driving is to be aware of vehicles and objects on the road ahead and to travel at such a speed enabling you to stop in advance of anything ahead that is not moving.

People park vehicles by the side of the road all the time. The idea is to avoid hitting them,.

[CGW]

The on-line version of this tragedy is that the deceased "may have been on his phone" though they offer no proof.

I guess in Thailand the two most obvious reasons in their minds for a crash is either you are on your phone or you fall asleep!

Kinda sad reasoning! 

[lvr181]

34 minutes ago, CGW said:

The on-line version of this tragedy is that the deceased "may have been on his phone" though they offer no proof.

Check "activity" on the phone at the time of the crash? Not too hard is it?

[CH1961]

There is one simple rule that safe your life, in most cases:

Drive by sight/run on sight. 

[sawadee1947]

16 hours ago, champers said:

RIP Michael. No reporting about the time this incident happened to substantiate, or not, the asleep at the wheel theory.

I don't think it was day time. Also I'm not sure it's good to drive a van at that she. 

It seems to me the van is same age as Michael 

[dabhand]

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere. but the Daily Mail has an article which provides more info on the accident and the victim.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7022649/Millionaire-British-doctor-killed-fainting-wheel-ploughing-lorry-Thailand.html

 

He is actually from Woking, Surrey. A common error when someone looks at a UK passport is to pick up on the 'Northern Ireland' element and use that as the home country.

Seems he was a retired doctor, well to do and with property interests in central Bangkok. His wife is of a similar age and is noted as having high society connections.

RIP.