Northeast Thailand: Pickup truck driver charged for death of 13 year old schoolboy in road accident (video)

[webfact]

 

An accident occurred at a zebra crossing Tuesday, December 26, where a 13 year old schoolboy got hit by a speeding pickup truck while crossing the road on his way home.

 

A soldier with the rank of sergeant was driving a pickup truck, when the vehicle hit the boy, the impact causing his body to be thrown off the road. The schoolboy died on the spot. Villagers warned of dangerous spots in the area.

 

“It’s actually a zebra crossing. But it’s a straight road so cars speed past.”

The driver, 29 year old Corporal Satya Mompanao, a soldier belonging to Military Base Camp 22, Ubon Ratchathani, hit the 13 year old, a year 1 student at a high school in Ubon Ratchathani Province, causing his death when the boy tried to cross the road near a zebra crossing. The schoolboy was dragged along by the pickup for nearly 50 metres.

 

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of CH7 News

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-12-28

 

- 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

[charleskerins]

the anguish   poor woman

[hotchilli]

The pedestrian crossing fiasco continues.

Every crossing should have traffic lights.

 

[reefsurfah]

20 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

The pedestrian crossing fiasco continues.

Every crossing should have traffic lights.

 

Wouldn’t matter with reckless driving 

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, reefsurfah said:

Wouldn’t matter with reckless driving 

On a fast road like that it's the only way to get traffic to understand there is a crossing point there.

Gotta start somewhere.

[stix40]

Lights at the crossing wouldn't make any difference.

For some reason Thai drivers do not know the meaning of waiting or giving way ! 

 

[NE1]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

A soldier with the rank of sergeant was driving a pickup truck

 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

The driver, 29 year old Corporal Satya Mompanao, a soldier belonging to Military Base Camp 22,

RIP to the boy , but a Zebra crossing on a dual carriageway is never going to work.

 

[findlay13]

3 hours ago, NE1 said:

 

RIP to the boy , but a Zebra crossing on a dual carriageway is never going to work.

 

I've never seen them work anywhere in Thailand unless there's traffic lights

[Jimjim1]

1 hour ago, findlay13 said:

I've never seen them work anywhere in Thailand unless there's traffic lights

There are traffic lights at a crossing on 2nd road Pattaya but these uncaring uneducated clowns just ignore them, the only thing that stops them is a road block but even then the bike brigade steam through.

 

[Moonlover]

A road like that should have a pedestrian bridge, not a zebra crossing. You just have to watch the speed of the traffic hurtling past whilst the guy's being interviewed to see that crossing that road on foot, even on a zebra crossing would be suicidal. All the crossing does is offer a false, very false sense of security.

 

What a sad end of the year for that poor family.

[cardinalblue]

Zebra crossings are for show only…drivers are not taught to respect them 

 

God forbid that proper signals co exist with painted crossings and are operational and complied with by drivers 

 

it’s all about not wanting to spend/invest in the pedestrian infrastructure vs losing a few folks here and there 

 

life is cheap in Asia is reinforced every day on Thai roads 

 

 

[reefsurfah]

7 hours ago, stix40 said:

Lights at the crossing wouldn't make any difference.

For some reason Thai drivers do not know the meaning of waiting or giving way ! 

 

I said that above.  Lights won’t solve it, TIT

[2008bangkok]

Wish they would get their reporting right, 1 sentence it says the impact force his body off the road next sentence is he was dragged for 50 meters 

Rip young man

[Andre0720]

20 hours ago, findlay13 said:

I've never seen them work anywhere in Thailand unless there's traffic lights

I remember someone posting a video of such a traffic light having been installed at a zebra crossing in Bangkok. Did not even slow down the traffic...

[orchidfan]

22 hours ago, hotchilli said:

On a fast road like that it's the only way to get traffic to understand there is a crossing point there.

Gotta start somewhere.

Of which they have at 99% of crosswalks in HK, AND many over~pass foot bridges.....which they COULD build at "bad" crossing points here in Thailand.

These don't rely an vehicles not speeding or stopping at red lights !

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, orchidfan said:

Of which they have at 99% of crosswalks in HK, AND many over~pass foot bridges.....which they COULD build at "bad" crossing points here in Thailand.

These don't rely an vehicles not speeding or stopping at red lights !

But that takes money... 

[Barnet1900]

If this happened in the UK, can you imagine how much coverage the BBC would give to stories like this? Busses crashing with passengers killed, exposed electric cables electrocuting the public, 40 odd people dead in a day on the roads etc etc etc...the daily list goes on and on regarding atrocities that happen all over Thailand.

 

Sadly, it's just a part of life here. A story in the daily news that will be forgotten soon after and replaced by another equally preventable and tragic event. 15 years living here and nothing changes.

 

The recent thread on feeling safe living here addressed how it felt to walk around at night in Isaan. Ask how safe people feel in regards to Thailand's road safety standards and it would be a different argument. Very sad.