In a tragic incident occurring at 5:00 AM on October 6, a mysterious pickup truck struck a group of cyclists, resulting in two deaths and four injuries.

 

The victims were part of the Nang Rong Mountain Bike Club in Buriram province. The unidentified driver, who fled the scene amidst the pre-dawn darkness, is yet to be apprehended, raising questions about whether the driver was intoxicated or asleep at the wheel, reported Daily News.

 

The deceased, identified as Narongchai Yalonan, a 68-year-old retired government official, and Pichanont Onpromratch, a 64-year-old local of Nang Rong district, were part of a six-member cycling group exercising on route 24.

 

Eyewitnesses report a sudden and violent collision, scattering bike parts across the accident scene. The pickup, an Isuzu, left behind its damaged bumper as a silent testament to the horror.

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Witness Sommai Sroisomwang narrated the terrifying moment, citing a loud crash followed by the sight of cyclists tumbling onto the roadway.

 

The pickup swerved and sped away, leaving devastation in its wake. Sommai and the other survivors suffered minor injuries but were haunted by the abrupt and brutal loss of their companions.

 

The widow of one of the victims calls for justice, lamenting the absence of accountability and the tragic interruption of a routine exercise outing.

 

The community and authorities are urging the hit-and-run driver to come forward and face the consequences of their devastating actions.

 

-- ASEAN NOW 2023-10-06

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

speechless ...

... R I P

Hit-and-run incident in Buriram leaves two cyclists dead: Community demands justice
by Nattapong Westwood

 

Picture courtesy of KhaoSod.

 

Two cyclists tragically lost their lives, and others sustained injuries when a speeding pickup truck crashed into a group of cyclists in a hit-and-run incident. The incident, which occurred in the darkness of the early morning, has left the victims’ families and cycling community in shock and demanding justice.

 

Today at 5am, local police in Buriram province received an alert about the hit-and-run traffic incident involving a group of cyclists. Upon reaching the scene of the accident on Route 24, between Isan Khet and Chaloem Phra Kiat, they discovered a grim scene. Parts of mountain bikes were scattered across the road and two fatalities were confirmed.

 

The deceased were identified as 68 year old Narongchai Yonanan, a retired government employee from the Department of Livestock Development, and 64 year old Pichanan On Prommarat, both residents of Buriram province.

The intensity of the collision was such that it caused immediate fatalities, with injuries present on their bodies. A piece of an Isuzu pickup truck’s bumper was also found at the scene, indicating the vehicle was involved in the hit-and-run.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-10-06

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

Let's hope that there is a civic minded person out there who knows of an Isuzu pick up that has incurred recent frontal damage and shops the owner to the police.

When I bike I always have the hair on my neck stand up as cars approach (figuratively).  Trust me - I'm extremely aware of two things:  1) Thais lack driving skills and 2) a bicyclist is no safer than a dog who dares to wander onto the road.

Then - get out and drive at Zero-Dark Thirty on a Thai road?  Most bicyclists who drive in the dark, even if they have their little lights and little flashing blinker, simply are immensely difficult to see. 

"You're an anti-bike car lovering cyclist-hater.  Arrgghh."

Not at all.  A bicycle was my ONLY transportation in University (I was dirt poor), and I'd routinely put 30 miles a day on the bike, much of that at night on US roads.  Driving on US roads at night was dangerous.  Imho, driving in the dark in Thailand is deadly.  Case in point - right here. 

Tragic, and though I never rode in groups that could have easily been me tooling around the backroads.

 

I hope the driver does the right thing and turns him/herself in.

 

He will turn himself in he has to sober up first, 

Again. :(

Even when I ride a motorbike around the Hua Hin area, I am very watchful. I do not trust many drivers in Thailand.

  Over the years I have seen too many bad drivers and some who deliberately try to scare motorbike and bicycle riders

as well.  RIP to these bike riders. Good Luck to the rest in the future. I wuill never ride a bicycle in Thailand, I think it

is just far too dangerous.

Harvey M

2 hours ago, connda said:

When I bike I always have the hair on my neck stand up as cars approach (figuratively).  Trust me - I'm extremely aware of two things:  1) Thais lack driving skills and 2) a bicyclist is no safer than a dog who dares to wander onto the road.

Then - get out and drive at Zero-Dark Thirty on a Thai road?  Most bicyclists who drive in the dark, even if they have their little lights and little flashing blinker, simply are immensely difficult to see. 

"You're an anti-bike car lovering cyclist-hater.  Arrgghh."

Not at all.  A bicycle was my ONLY transportation in University (I was dirt poor), and I'd routinely put 30 miles a day on the bike, much of that at night on US roads.  Driving on US roads at night was dangerous.  Imho, driving in the dark in Thailand is deadly.  Case in point - right here. 

Agreed. Also, most cars here have blacked-out windows. I keep on at my daughter to have her windscreen changed because if ever I drive her car in the dark, I have difficulty seeing bikes and pedestrians. It is definitely dangerous and it worries me to death that she seems to think it's normal to have reduced vision.

I feel so sorry for the families of the victims of those killed and injured.  Hopefully the driver can be brought to justice and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  

I lived in Chiang Mai for 10 years and knew 6 people killed on bicycles. IMHO much more dangerous than motorcycles!

2 hours ago, connda said:

Imho, driving in the dark in Thailand is deadly. 

I'm a bicycling fan and enthusiast... But....

 

1. I would never ride a bike on Thailand roads in the darkness.

 

2. I won't ride a bike in Thailand anywhere where I'm sharing the path with cars / trucks.

 

There have been plenty of this kind of multi fatality bicycling-motor vehicle crashes here over the years.

 

 

 

When he’s sober job, he’ll probably turn on something and blame the whole thing a break failure you know they don’t like to take blame for anything right TIT

2 hours ago, connda said:

When I bike I always have the hair on my neck stand up as cars approach (figuratively).  Trust me - I'm extremely aware of two things:  1) Thais lack driving skills and 2) a bicyclist is no safer than a dog who dares to wander onto the road.

Then - get out and drive at Zero-Dark Thirty on a Thai road?  Most bicyclists who drive in the dark, even if they have their little lights and little flashing blinker, simply are immensely difficult to see. 

"You're an anti-bike car lovering cyclist-hater.  Arrgghh."

Not at all.  A bicycle was my ONLY transportation in University (I was dirt poor), and I'd routinely put 30 miles a day on the bike, much of that at night on US roads.  Driving on US roads at night was dangerous.  Imho, driving in the dark in Thailand is deadly.  Case in point - right here. 

Because that 2 things, I finished bicycling.

I don't know about here but elsewhere fleeing the scene of a fatality would mean a sentence even harsher than being drunk but stopping. Strenuous efforts would also be made on detection to do a back calculation based on time elapsed to establish probable intoxication, even eye witness reports on what the offender consumed would be admissable. Your only benefit comes if you're not discovered. Leaving behind a bumper really narrows the chance of that scenario.

This is same circumstance that killed a group of cyclists in CM some years ago. Riding in the early morning hours when it's still nearly dark and riding in groups. Maybe they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane and the driver didn't have time to react as they were speeding/drunk/dumb etc...

2 hours ago, connda said:

When I bike I always have the hair on my neck stand up as cars approach (figuratively).  Trust me - I'm extremely aware of two things:  1) Thais lack driving skills and 2) a bicyclist is no safer than a dog who dares to wander onto the road.

Then - get out and drive at Zero-Dark Thirty on a Thai road?  Most bicyclists who drive in the dark, even if they have their little lights and little flashing blinker, simply are immensely difficult to see. 

"You're an anti-bike car lovering cyclist-hater.  Arrgghh."

Not at all.  A bicycle was my ONLY transportation in University (I was dirt poor), and I'd routinely put 30 miles a day on the bike, much of that at night on US roads.  Driving on US roads at night was dangerous.  Imho, driving in the dark in Thailand is deadly.  Case in point - right here. 

It's an incalculable risk biking in Thailand, where you have to share the roads with trucks, buses and pickups. In particular in dark, dawn or sunset. 

There is no safety whatsoever. RIP.

9 minutes ago, TheFishman1 said:

When he’s sober job, he’ll probably turn on something and blame the whole thing a break failure you know they don’t like to take blame for anything right TIT

"...right TIT"

Well, you said it.   

Condemning all Thais as "not responsible enough to accept blame", based on just this and, maybe, a couple of other incidents is irrational, Thai-bashing garbage. 

You have to have a death wish to ride in Thailand 

what a tragedy, mu heart goes out to the lady in the picture crying, and to the family and friends of the victims.

Just this morning I was telling my wife that as soon as it cools down a bit we should start going riding again, and she shai that she did not want to because she thought it was too dangerous, and that we should buy a stationary bike. 

Sad day - I often drive the country roads at 4:00-5:00 am. 

 

Thai cyclists active at this hour are very aware of the dangers, they have piercing bright LED on the front and from the rear solid and flashing lights, they ride in small packs, most usually single file and it's really difficult not to be confused / intrigued (meaning, be aware and slow down) by the group of moving lights - no excuses for this driver of the Isuzu, he is a murder, lock him up.

5 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 Riding in the early morning hours when it's still nearly dark and riding in groups. Maybe they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane and the driver didn't have time to react as they were speeding/drunk/dumb etc...

No excuse for a hit-and-run but...

riding in the early morning hours when it's still nearly dark and riding in groups. Maybe they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane and the driver didn't have time to react as they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane. 

5 minutes ago, recom273 said:

Thai cyclists active at this hour are very aware of the dangers, they have piercing bright LED on the front and from the rear solid and flashing lights, they ride in small packs, most usually single file and it's really difficult not to be confused / intrigued (meaning, be aware and slow down) by the group of moving lights - no excuses for this driver of the Isuzu, he is a murder, lock him up.

I'm not condoning the action of the driver but, for some reason, you're assuming that these elderly bike riders were using lights on their bikes and riding in single file in darkness, something that was not reported.

I don't know if this was the case in this instance, but how often do we see bicycle riders riding 2 and 3 abreast, chatting as they ride along at 20-30 km/h. And oblivious to frustrated traffic jamming up behind them ?

 

Many comments above (tinted windows, lack of warning lighting ,  etc) point out the increased hazards of riding a bicycle in Thailand. Stick to daylight hours. 

 

Even on a motorbike (PCX) I have been intentionally forced to the curb several times  by angry and anxious drivers in cars who take out the frustration on anyone smaller than them. 20 years of living here and I still am not used to how a calm Thai who wai's me one minute , then gets behind the wheel and turns from Jekyll to Hyde

 

My sympathies to the families of the deceased riders 

I used to cycle 5 miles to work and back every single day in the chaos of London roads and traffic, which feels infinitely safer than even considering riding a bicycle on Thai roads.   There just doesn't seem to be much respect for life here on the roads as drink driving is normalised and there is not much consequence for doing so.  

 

Until there are genuine consequences for drink driving over here this is just another very sad but very repeatable story.  

7 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No excuse for a hit-and-run but...

riding in the early morning hours when it's still nearly dark and riding in groups. Maybe they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane and the driver didn't have time to react as they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane. 

1. You are victim blaming here.

2. The second photo shows they were on a very straight road.  

3. It's (normally) safer to ride in a group as they would be a lot more visible than a solo rider. 

4. If someone is incapable of seeing 6 cyclists in a group on a road they are either too drunk or too blind to be driving so it's not the cyclists that should not have been using the road.   

 

9 minutes ago, kentrot said:

I don't know if this was the case in this instance, but how often do we see bicycle riders riding 2 and 3 abreast, chatting as they ride along at 20-30 km/h. And oblivious to frustrated traffic jamming up behind them ?

 

Thai's are in general extremely oblivious to their surroundings when in public. It's like they're in a little bubble and the outside world doesn't exist outside of it. Many accidents can be avoided if you just pay more attention and consider your actions more.

18 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No excuse for a hit-and-run but...

riding in the early morning hours when it's still nearly dark and riding in groups. Maybe they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane and the driver didn't have time to react as they were going around a curve while taking up the entire lane. 

Yeah I know, what's your point? I'm saying the cyclists very likely made this situation more dangerous than it had to be.

A few years back someone was killed while doing a cycle around the world attempt.

Sadly he was killed in Thailand after being hit by a pick up or a truck .

Very dangerous to ride a bicycle here .

Especially when a lot of groups like to ride side by side out in the road.