Accident British Driver Crashes BMW Into Phuket Som Tam Shop, Blames Cat Crossing the Road

[Georgealbert]

 

Pictures courtesy of Matichon.

 

In the early hours of 27 April, a British man lost control of his BMW and crashed into a roadside som tam shop and an adjacent house in Phuket, causing extensive damage. He later claimed a cat had darted across the road, forcing him to swerve.

 

At around 02:55, police at Wichit Police Station were alerted to the accident in Moo 3, Wichit subdistrict, Muang district. Officers, along with local ambulance and rescue teams, rushed to the scene on Khwang Road.

 

They found a white BMW, registration number from Phuket, had smashed through the som tam shop, continuing into the neighbouring property before coming to a halt. Both the shop and house suffered damage.

 

The driver, identified as Mr Jack Richard Tenny, 50, a British national, sustained minor injuries. A passenger, Ms Danielle Joyce Swaby, 48, also British, was injured and transported to Dibuk Hospital for treatment.

 

Following the accident, the shop and homeowners arrived to inspect the damage. Police recorded the scene and took Mr Tenny in for questioning after treatment, to Wichit Police Station.

According to Mr Tenny’s statement, he had been driving from Kathu subdistrict towards his residence in Chalong when a cat suddenly crossed the road. He swerved to avoid hitting it, resulting in the loss of control and the crash.

 

Authorities have contacted the insurance company linked to the vehicle to assess the damage and ensure compensation for the affected shop and homeowners.

 

Pol Col Somsak Thongkliang, superintendent of Wichit Police Station, confirmed that preliminary investigations suggest the crash was caused by the driver swerving to avoid the cat. No serious injuries or fatalities were reported.

 

Blood alcohol tests were conducted at Dibuk Hospital, and police are currently awaiting the results. Responsibility for all damages will be handled by the vehicle’s insurance and the driver, officials said.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon 2025-04-27.

 

 

 

 

[norsurin]

And how fast was he speeding?

[Harrisfan]

Kill a cat, dont try to kill humans. Jail then deport for having a low IQ.

[blaze master]

Taking one from the Thai I'm not responsible play book. 

 

When in Rome.....

[bkk6060]

Speed and probably on phone.

Sure, a cat?  That thing would be a flat cat if it were me who cares.

[Upnotover]

He's lying.  Double the penalty.

[ozz1]

Sounds like my dog ate my homework interesting to see if alcohol was involved  but probably has paid the cops off already nothing to see here

[bdenner]

What sort of idiot tempts injury to miss a cat?? As a youngster I was always instructed to "Keep the vehicle under control and hit the Roo if necessary  -- DO NOT SWERVE to avoid an Animal!!! So many lives have been lost in Australia by drivers not knowing what to do when confronted by the sudden appearance of a Kangaroo or other animals!

[Ralf001]

Brittle - Check.

Gofundme - ?

[Gottfrid]

Yeah, a guy with Island fever is showing the general intelligence level again. Anyway, he must truly love cats.

[fredwiggy]

10 minutes ago, bdenner said:

What sort of idiot tempts injury to miss a cat?? As a youngster I was always instructed to "Keep the vehicle under control and hit the Roo if necessary  -- DO NOT SWERVE to avoid an Animal!!! So many lives have been lost in Australia by drivers not knowing what to do when confronted by the sudden appearance of a Kangaroo or other animals!

Happens a lot in the US. Over 400 die a year with 50,000+ accidents. Best way is to not drive fast where animals are around, especially at night, and just maintain control, keeping in your lane unless you can go into the next lane without hitting anyone. All you can do is apply brakes and hope the animals clears your path.

[save the frogs]

11 hours ago, bdenner said:

DO NOT SWERVE to avoid an Animal!!! So many lives have been lost in Australia by drivers not knowing what to do when confronted by the sudden appearance of a Kangaroo or other animals!

 

You probably need nerves of steel to keep driving straight into a kangaroo though.

Glad I've never had to make that decision. 

 

[save the frogs]

11 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Best way is to not drive fast

not driving too fast in general would avoid most accidents

 

but people always seem to be in a rush - to go nowhere 

 

[ChaiyaTH]

7 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Happens a lot in the US. Over 400 die a year with 50,000+ accidents. Best way is to not drive fast where animals are around, especially at night, and just maintain control, keeping in your lane unless you can go into the next lane without hitting anyone. All you can do is apply brakes and hope the animals clears your path.

Well it does not matter how sad it is, you simply stay straight in that case and hit the animal. You not risk your own and other their lives for it. It's like triage.

[fredwiggy]

1 minute ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Well it does not matter how sad it is, you simply stay straight in that case and hit the animal. You not risk your own and other their lives for it. It's like triage.

If you're going the speed limit, and less at night in deer areas, which is almost everywhere now, you can avoid them sometimes by moving into the next lane. If it's not possible, you just apply brakes and hit the animal, although sometimes the deer can end up in your windshield. It's a judgement call which means immediate action. I looked to the side of the road once while going hunting and when I looked back a buck was right in front of my car. Luckily it was moving fast and I didn't hit him. I'm always looking out for deer when back home. Here it's dogs so the same rules apply, although a deer usually causes a lot more damage if you hit them. It's hard for many people when an animal runs in front of them the first time in their lives.

[ChaiyaTH]

3 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

If you're going the speed limit, and less at night in deer areas, which is almost everywhere now, you can avoid them sometimes by moving into the next lane. If it's not possible, you just apply brakes and hit the animal, although sometimes the deer can end up in your windshield. It's a judgement call which means immediate action. I looked to the side of the road once while going hunting and when I looked back a buck was right in front of my car. Luckily it was moving fast and I didn't hit him. I'm always looking out for deer when back home. Here it's dogs so the same rules apply, although a deer usually causes a lot more damage if you hit them. It's hard for many people when an animal runs in front of them the first time in their lives.

There is no proven reaction time that makes possible what you say unless it was from far away, simply due the average 2 second reaction time. Hence they suggest that as a distance between cars on high ways too. Anyway the answer is not really debatable: you stay straight. Anyone is taught this normally for their license in western countries. I drove ambulances.

[riclag]

1 hour ago, blaze master said:

Taking one from the Thai I'm not responsible play book. 

 

When in Rome.....

My exact reaction!

[billd766]

1 hour ago, norsurin said:

And how fast was he speeding?

At 3 am on an empty 2 lane highway, he must have been going quite fast to demolish a Som Tam shop and bury the car into the house next door. Looking at the 2 photos he seems to have been very lucky and just missed the power pole and light as well.

[fredwiggy]

1 minute ago, ChaiyaTH said:

There is no proven reaction time that makes possible what you say unless it was from far away, simply due the average 2 second reaction time. Hence they suggest that as a distance between cars on high ways too. Anyway the answer is not really debatable: you stay straight. Anyone is taught this normally for their license in western countries. I drove ambulances.

It all depends on the particular circumstance. If you are a driver who encounters deer a lot, you can drive around many of them if no one's next to you. All depends on if there's other traffic around you. If it's a 2 lane roadway and people are in the next lane, all you can do is brake and stay straight. It's not easy to say what anyone can do until it happens. If you have it in your mind to brake and stay straight that's usually the best policy, especially if you've never encountered deer in the road ahead of you. I've avoided hundreds of them on Texas and New Jersey roads as I never speed when I'm in areas where they live. They will run out in the roads right next to you and sometimes can't be avoided. I hope I never hit one as they cause thousands of dollars damage. What you said is basically true, especially for the average driver who rarely sees deer.

[Andre0720]

If the idiot was able to swerve to avoid a  cat, one would expect that the same idiot would be able to swerve to avoid the Som Tam shop.

 

Oh well, the qualifier I use show what I think of this liar...

[GroveHillWanderer]

43 minutes ago, bdenner said:

What sort of idiot tempts injury to miss a cat?? As a youngster I was always instructed to "Keep the vehicle under control and hit the Roo if necessary  -- DO NOT SWERVE to avoid an Animal!!! So many lives have been lost in Australia by drivers not knowing what to do when confronted by the sudden appearance of a Kangaroo or other animals!

I was given the same advice in regard to animals running in front of the car, by my BSM driving instructor when I was learning to drive,

[norsurin]

54 minutes ago, billd766 said:

At 3 am on an empty 2 lane highway, he must have been going quite fast to demolish a Som Tam shop and bury the car into the house next door. Looking at the 2 photos he seems to have been very lucky and just missed the power pole and light as well.

Right.Normally only legs and bars open that time.