Drunk Man Steals Motorcycle with Sidecar, Crashes into Tree, One Dead, One Injured

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khoasod.

 

An incident unfolded in Buriram Province after a man, reportedly intoxicated, stole a motorcycle with a sidecar during a funeral ceremony, only to crash it into a tree, killing himself and seriously injuring his passenger.

 

The incident occurred on 11 April, Police Lieutenant Colonel Chalermchai Nernthoni, Deputy Inspector of Investigation at Nang Rong Police Station, was alerted to a road crash involving a motorcycle rider who had veered off the road and collided with a tree. Emergency response teams from the Chumsaeng and Nong Bo Subdistrict Administrative Organisations, Nang Rong Hospital, and the Buriram Highway Police Rescue Unit were dispatched to the scene.

 

The crash took place near Saphan Khao Bridge on the Ban Salao – Ban Khok Krasang road in Chumsaeng Subdistrict, Nang Rong District. The vehicle, a motorcycle with a sidecar, had sustained heavy damage. Two men were found injured at the scene: Mr. Suchart, 42, who was critically injured and later succumbed to his wounds at Nang Rong Hospital, and Mr. Witsanu, 27, who suffered a badly broken leg but survived.

 

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the two men riding erratically prior to the crash. Both were known locally and were often seen drinking together. Residents said the pair appeared heavily intoxicated and were swaying dangerously on the road before they lost control and struck the tree.

 

The motorcycle belonged to Mr. Suwan, 72, who had parked it earlier that morning while attending a merit-making ceremony at a relative’s house in Khok Phluang Village. He left around 10:00, to tend to his cattle, only to return and discover the motorcycle missing. After alerting the village headman and searching in vain, he reported the theft to the police. Hours later, he learned that the stolen vehicle had been involved in the fatal crash.

 

Mr. Suwan stated he had no intention of pressing charges, saying, “The man who took my motorcycle is already dead. There is no need to seek punishment now.”

 

 

-- 2025-04-13