A 62-year-old man has denied deliberately driving his pickup truck into a group of diners, including his 34-year-old wife, injuring seven people, two seriously. The incident occurred at around 22.10 on 2 March at a restaurant in Ban Sai Tho 5 Tai, Chanthab Phet subdistrict, Ban Kruat district, Buriram province. Police said they are not yet convinced by his explanation and are continuing their investigation.

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The driver, named as Mr Somorn, told officers he had bent down to pick up a mobile phone that had fallen inside the vehicle, causing him to lose control and crash into the table where people were eating and drinking. Among the injured was Ms Pensri, 34, identified as his wife, who was seated with the group at the time. Seven people were hurt in total, with two reported to be in a serious condition.

Several diners and relatives of the injured believe the crash may have been motivated by jealousy. They alleged that Ms Pensri had distanced herself from Mr Somorn and was seeing a police officer, who was also present at the table when the incident occurred.

Mr Somorn denied any jealousy, saying he was aware of his age and would not object if his wife chose to be with someone else. He stated they had separated 15 days before the incident and insisted the crash was unintentional.

Police said they are investigating whether the act was deliberate, including examining the fact that the pickup truck was covered by first-class insurance and whether this was connected to the incident, as it would cover all costs. If evidence supports an intentional act, officers said the case could potentially amount to attempted murder. For now, Mr Somorn has been charged with reckless driving causing injury.

Pictures courtesy of ThaiRath

A 42-year-old neighbour, Mr Kai, said he believed the crash was intentional, claiming the vehicle slowed before accelerating directly into the table, despite another parked car being nearby. Another local man, identified only as Mr A, 42, said the couple had met while playing hi-lo gambling at village events and had lived together, describing Mr Somorn as normally calm but deeply in love with the woman.

Ms Pensri’s 63-year-old mother, Mrs Sompian, said Mr Somorn had lived on and off with her daughter and had always shown her respect by calling her “mother”. She said she did not know the details of their personal issues but confirmed that after the crash he telephoned her to say a serious incident had occurred and that several people were badly injured.

ThaiRath reported that police said the investigation is ongoing to determine whether the collision was deliberate or accidental. Further legal action will depend on the outcome of that inquiry.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Thairath 4 Mar 2026

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3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Mr Somorn denied any jealousy, saying he was aware of his age and would not object if his wife chose to be with someone else. He stated they had separated 15 days before the incident and insisted the crash was unintentional.

Yeah, that´s a good one. I think Mr. Somorn will find there are a lot of circumstances in this case that will dig the hole for him. He just happened to be driving exactly where his wife was sitting eating with her new police boyfriend. At the same time, he accidentally happened to drop his mobile phone, and has to continue drive, pick it up, and hit exactly the table that the wife and new boyfriend was dining at together with friends. I think it is not looking so bright for Mr. Somorn.