9 People Killed In Pathum Thani Racing Track

[george]

9 people killed in Pathum Thani racing track

BANGKOK: -- Nine people were killed late Saturday night when a racing car lost control and hit them inside a racing track in Pathum Thani, police said.

Six people were crushed to death at the ring of the Bangkok Drag Avenue in Pathum Thai shortly before 11 pm.

Eleven other injured people were rushed to 4 hospitals and three of them later died.

Eyewitnesses told police that a racing car lost control after leaving the start line by only some 300 metres. It hit the concrete barrier at the ring of the track and flew over to land on the fans at the rim of the track, killing some of the immediately and fatally and severely injuring many others.

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves.

-- The Nation 2008-11-23

[animatic]

9 people killed in Pathum Thani racing track

BANGKOK: -- Nine people were killed late Saturday night when a racing car lost control and hit them inside a racing track in Pathum Thani, police said.

Six people were crushed to death at the ring of the Bangkok Drag Avenue in Pathum Thai shortly before 11 pm.

Eleven other injured people were rushed to 4 hospitals and three of them later died.

Eyewitnesses told police that a racing car lost control after leaving the start line by only some 300 metres. It hit the concrete barrier at the ring of the track and flew over to land on the fans at the rim of the track, killing some of the immediately and fatally and severely injuring many others.

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves.

-- The Nation 2008-11-23

Sad event.

Though the like occasionally happens in the best run tracks.

My brother races touring car classes for fun. Alpha Romeo, Volkswagon, BMW, Cosworth Vega etc.

He's gone off the course, and it cost him a divorce years back. But nothing like this day...

No doubt this race day was 'under regulated' for any safety aspects.

Guess they just go back to only street racing next year..

and the concurrent accidents.

My condolences to the families of dead and injured.

I also feel bad for the driver,

I am SURE he is in a mental hel_l right now...

I doubt he imagined anything this bad when the race started.

Edited November 23, 2008 by animatic

[MSingh]

9 people killed in Pathum Thani racing track

BANGKOK: -- Nine people were killed late Saturday night when a racing car lost control and hit them inside a racing track in Pathum Thani, police said.

Six people were crushed to death at the ring of the Bangkok Drag Avenue in Pathum Thai shortly before 11 pm.

Eleven other injured people were rushed to 4 hospitals and three of them later died.

Eyewitnesses told police that a racing car lost control after leaving the start line by only some 300 metres. It hit the concrete barrier at the ring of the track and flew over to land on the fans at the rim of the track, killing some of the immediately and fatally and severely injuring many others.

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves.

-- The Nation 2008-11-23

Cement Truck Drivers, Drunk Drivers & now Racing Car Drivers who everyone seems to be aware of...

A horrible trait that Thai people seem to have..

RIP all those who died..

[0Mix1up]

not good

trying to take it off the street

and that happens

rip to those

[goonerthegooner]

Sad and tragic loss of life.

RIP,too all those involved.

Condolences too the families.

Why did the race driver flee the scene??,this happens all to often here in Thailand when there is a bad accident,and fatalies are involved.

Stay at the accident and face the music like a Man,by running away you have without doubt '''lost face'''

[animatic]

Sad and tragic loss of life.

RIP,too all those involved.

Condolences too the families.

Why did the race driver flee the scene??,this happens all to often here in Thailand when there is a bad accident,and fatalies are involved.

Stay at the accident and face the music like a Man,by running away you have without doubt '''lost face'''

I think leaving is from pure fear,

there is a tendancy to mindlessly beat to a pulp anyone

who causes a bad accident to others, but is not injured at all.

[hansgti]

After witnessing the accident last night i feel i should add this.

Bangkok drag avenue is a 1/4 mile drag strip with good safety standards and on site mobile medical teams.

The driver "fled" the scene in an ambulance, after being pulled from the car which was on fire whilst he was inside it.

The Nations quote

"The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves."

In reality this was an organised event sponsored by Goodyear, in which they spent over 4 million baht bringing a NZ dragster to race down the 1/4 mile and promoting it as the GOODYEAR DRAG PARTY, now it looks like the corporate dont want any association to this evenings sad and tragic ending.

A message of sympathy and condolences for families and those concerned should be forthcoming, instead its portrayed as teenagers out of control.

Hopefully these people didnt die for nothing and the owners will improve on the tracks safety .

Edited November 23, 2008 by hansgti

[animatic]

After witnessing the accident last night i feel i should add this.

Bangkok drag avenue is a 1/4 mile drag strip with good safety standards and on site mobile medical teams.

The driver "fled" the scene in an ambulance, after being pulled his car which was on fire whilst he was inside it.

The Nations quote

"The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves."

In reality this was an organised event sponsored by Goodyear in which they spent over 4 million baht bringing a NZ dragster to and promoting the it as the GOODYEAR DRAG PARTY, looks like the corporate dont want any association to this sad evenings tragic ending.

Hopefully these people didnt die for nothing and the owners will improve on the tracks safety .

Thanks for the accurate report.

Sorry you had to see such a horrible thing too.

Thankfully the ambulances were on site.

Sounds better run that expected, but not quite good enough.

Still ALL drag races have accidents regularly...

Also good to have the impression about the driver clarified.

I hope he will make it.

My comment was more about drivers fleeing from street accidents,

thought it was a plausible here, people losing it in grief and going after the driver.

[Scott]

My condolences to the family and friends of the victims.

I don't think most people would criticize the kids, but the folks that are setting up/sponsoring these events. Drag racing is more than just driving fast. It requires a lot of skill and that skill isn't exactly common in Thailand.

That's not to say that anyone person or group is responsible, but it would be wise to have professional people involved.

In Thailand, I think a demolition derby would be quite successful, however.

[Flatouthruthefog]

After witnessing the accident last night i feel i should add this.

Bangkok drag avenue is a 1/4 mile drag strip with good safety standards and on site mobile medical teams.

The driver "fled" the scene in an ambulance, after being pulled his car which was on fire whilst he was inside it.

The Nations quote

"The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves."

In reality this was an organised event sponsored by Goodyear in which they spent over 4 million baht bringing a NZ dragster to and promoting the it as the GOODYEAR DRAG PARTY, looks like the corporate dont want any association to this sad evenings tragic ending.

Hopefully these people didnt die for nothing and the owners will improve on the tracks safety .

Thanks for the accurate report.

Sorry you had to see such a horrible thing too.

Thankfully the ambulances were on site.

Sounds better run that expected, but not quite good enough.

Still ALL drag races have accidents regularly...

Also good to have the impression about the driver clarified.

I hope he will make it.

My comment was more about drivers fleeing from street accidents,

thought it was a plausible here, people losing it in grief and going after the driver.

Well said you, and very well reported Hansgti. You illustrate how far 'The Nation' has slumped in it's standards of accuracy, let alone English language.

To the outsider, 2 drivers trying to out-accelerate each other down a straight quarter mile may look innocuous, but I've done it and it becomes a challenge just to keep the thing pointing straight with rear wheel drive and over 200 horsepower under your right foot. And some of these guys have 600hp-plus-plus.

I don't know the Bkk track, the car, or the organisers, but here in Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, where we regularly host drag meetings with Thailand's 10th fastest drag car (a VW Beetle!!) and others slightly slower, there has never been a tragedy like this.

I trust that this will be a real wake up/shake up call for better safety in every respect. What a tragedy for Thailand that this always seems to happen AFTER the event.

RIP, the innocents.

[alex_aka_P]

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

A very common action here. And useful, perhaps... No any news regerding someone was captured after escaping. Its OK if they fled after injuring only themselves, but how about all those runners - "accidental" killers, overturned buses etc...?

Welcome to LOS!

[animatic]

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

A very common action here. And useful, perhaps... No any news regerding someone was captured after escaping. Its OK if they fled after injuring only themselves, but how about all those runners - "accidental" killers, overturned buses etc...?

Welcome to LOS!

Please read farther,

the driver was taken from the scene in an ambulance.....

He need not be captured. We have this from an eye wtiness.

Thje newspapers were not giving a fair shake to this wtory at all.

[alex_aka_P]

Please read farther, the driver was taken from the scene in an ambulance.....

He need not be captured.

I meant not only him and not only this case. How many stories on this forum ends with "<place name here> fled the scene"?

This post is just a +1...

[atlas_shrugged]

I was there, too. What a sad, sad day for Thailand, not only because of the loss of life, but because of the behavior of the police, track officials, and most especially the spectors afterwards.

The car was in the right lane and veered to the left as if it might have broken the left axle, hitting the concrete barrier on the left side of the racetrack at high speed. Although it was only 300 meters into the course, this was an _extremely_ powerful car with perhaps as much as 900 horsepower running sub-10-second quarter mile times. I think it was about equivalent to a US NHRA Sport Compact class car. It could easily have been doing 150 miles per hour when it hit the wall. The initial impact toppled the 5000-pound concrete barrier, instantly turning it into a launch ramp causing the car to fly into the spectator area, heavily impacting several spectator cars and the people between them before returning to the track to rest upside down on the concrete barrier. I don't know how the driver could have survived the crash, as the final impact crushed the windshield pillar almost all the way into the driver's seat.

I actually participated in the event so I was mildly interested in the safety preparations, and I counted only one ambulance on and no helicopter. No more than five minutes before the crash I commented to my partner that there wasn't enough safety equipment further down the track, that they needed a 4-meter-high chain link fence with an inward curve at the top, and that I wouldn't go stand down there. I commented that if a dragster went into the crowd it could potentially kill over 100 people. She no doubt thought that I, as usual, was being overly risk-averse. Then BANG! Even before we heard any reports I said that was one of the worst crashes I've ever seen. After we heard the reports, I knew it was one of the worst crashes in world motorsport history, far worse than the famous Group B Portuguese Rally crash of 1986.

Once race officials knew the extent of the injuries they announced that the race was canceled, and hordes of specators jammed all access roads. It took a significant time before the squads of ambulances started arriving, perhaps twenty minutes or more. I saw traffic jams of ambulances immobilized by thoughtless spectators, with no efforts being made by track officials or police to clear the road. In the end I was running through the traffic jam, screaming at people to get the &lt;deleted&gt; out of the road so the ambulances could get through. Nobody moved. Not one person even pulled over.

Checking my camera's photo info, I see that the last photo before the crash was taken at 22:12, so the crash was at about 22:17. I have photos as late as 23:34, AN HOUR AND 17 MINUTES LATER, showing arriving ambulances stuck in traffic. But by then, all the remaining injured were dead.

What a country.

[kartman]

Unfortunate drivers name. The recent Bangsean race meeting they brought FIA race inspectors here to see if a International race permit was possible but according to Bangkok Post the safety/crowd control was sorely lacking.

[HorseDoctor]

9 people killed in Pathum Thani racing track

BANGKOK: -- Nine people were killed late Saturday night when a racing car lost control and hit them inside a racing track in Pathum Thani, police said.

Six people were crushed to death at the ring of the Bangkok Drag Avenue in Pathum Thai shortly before 11 pm.

Eleven other injured people were rushed to 4 hospitals and three of them later died.

Eyewitnesses told police that a racing car lost control after leaving the start line by only some 300 metres. It hit the concrete barrier at the ring of the track and flew over to land on the fans at the rim of the track, killing some of the immediately and fatally and severely injuring many others.

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves.

-- The Nation 2008-11-23

Cement Truck Drivers, Drunk Drivers & now Racing Car Drivers who everyone seems to be aware of...

A horrible trait that Thai people seem to have..

RIP all those who died..

Concur

[animatic]

Any word on how the many injured are doing now?

How is the driver?

Poor sod, will feel like hel_l the rest of his life.

As likely as anything it is mechanical failor.

One second on track, next second, horror.

He will have lost control and not know why,

and blame himself forever.

[HorseDoctor]

I was there, too. What a sad, sad day for Thailand, not only because of the loss of life, but because of the behavior of the police, track officials, and most especially the spectors afterwards.

The car was in the right lane and veered to the left as if it might have broken the left axle, hitting the concrete barrier on the left side of the racetrack at high speed. Although it was only 300 meters into the course, this was an _extremely_ powerful car with perhaps as much as 900 horsepower running sub-10-second quarter mile times. I think it was about equivalent to a US NHRA Sport Compact class car. It could easily have been doing 150 miles per hour when it hit the wall. The initial impact toppled the 5000-pound concrete barrier, instantly turning it into a launch ramp causing the car to fly into the spectator area, heavily impacting several spectator cars and the people between them before returning to the track to rest upside down on the concrete barrier. I don't know how the driver could have survived the crash, as the final impact crushed the windshield pillar almost all the way into the driver's seat.

I actually participated in the event so I was mildly interested in the safety preparations, and I counted only one ambulance on and no helicopter. No more than five minutes before the crash I commented to my partner that there wasn't enough safety equipment further down the track, that they needed a 4-meter-high chain link fence with an inward curve at the top, and that I wouldn't go stand down there. I commented that if a dragster went into the crowd it could potentially kill over 100 people. She no doubt thought that I, as usual, was being overly risk-averse. Then BANG! Even before we heard any reports I said that was one of the worst crashes I've ever seen. After we heard the reports, I knew it was one of the worst crashes in world motorsport history, far worse than the famous Group B Portuguese Rally crash of 1986.

Once race officials knew the extent of the injuries they announced that the race was canceled, and hordes of specators jammed all access roads. It took a significant time before the squads of ambulances started arriving, perhaps twenty minutes or more. I saw traffic jams of ambulances immobilized by thoughtless spectators, with no efforts being made by track officials or police to clear the road. In the end I was running through the traffic jam, screaming at people to get the &lt;deleted&gt; out of the road so the ambulances could get through. Nobody moved. Not one person even pulled over.

Checking my camera's photo info, I see that the last photo before the crash was taken at 22:12, so the crash was at about 22:17. I have photos as late as 23:34, AN HOUR AND 17 MINUTES LATER, showing arriving ambulances stuck in traffic. But by then, all the remaining injured were dead.

What a country.

Concur

[dave111223]

That's terrible that the Nation printed a line such as:

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

When it's clear, from the first hand accounts here, that this is very far from the truth. Down right libelous if you ask me.

[animatic]

That's terrible that the Nation printed a line such as:

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

When it's clear, from the first hand accounts here, that this is very far from the truth. Down right libelous if you ask me.

I think they printed what they THOUGHT was truth,

and it was not illogical in LOS.

No word on a retraction, most people here don't get them short of a 1 billion baht lawsuit.

[john b good]

I was there, too. What a sad, sad day for Thailand, not only because of the loss of life, but because of the behavior of the police, track officials, and most especially the spectors afterwards.

The car was in the right lane and veered to the left as if it might have broken the left axle, hitting the concrete barrier on the left side of the racetrack at high speed. Although it was only 300 meters into the course, this was an _extremely_ powerful car with perhaps as much as 900 horsepower running sub-10-second quarter mile times. I think it was about equivalent to a US NHRA Sport Compact class car. It could easily have been doing 150 miles per hour when it hit the wall. The initial impact toppled the 5000-pound concrete barrier, instantly turning it into a launch ramp causing the car to fly into the spectator area, heavily impacting several spectator cars and the people between them before returning to the track to rest upside down on the concrete barrier. I don't know how the driver could have survived the crash, as the final impact crushed the windshield pillar almost all the way into the driver's seat.

I actually participated in the event so I was mildly interested in the safety preparations, and I counted only one ambulance on and no helicopter. No more than five minutes before the crash I commented to my partner that there wasn't enough safety equipment further down the track, that they needed a 4-meter-high chain link fence with an inward curve at the top, and that I wouldn't go stand down there. I commented that if a dragster went into the crowd it could potentially kill over 100 people. She no doubt thought that I, as usual, was being overly risk-averse. Then BANG! Even before we heard any reports I said that was one of the worst crashes I've ever seen. After we heard the reports, I knew it was one of the worst crashes in world motorsport history, far worse than the famous Group B Portuguese Rally crash of 1986.

Once race officials knew the extent of the injuries they announced that the race was canceled, and hordes of specators jammed all access roads. It took a significant time before the squads of ambulances started arriving, perhaps twenty minutes or more. I saw traffic jams of ambulances immobilized by thoughtless spectators, with no efforts being made by track officials or police to clear the road. In the end I was running through the traffic jam, screaming at people to get the &lt;deleted&gt; out of the road so the ambulances could get through. Nobody moved. Not one person even pulled over.

Checking my camera's photo info, I see that the last photo before the crash was taken at 22:12, so the crash was at about 22:17. I have photos as late as 23:34, AN HOUR AND 17 MINUTES LATER, showing arriving ambulances stuck in traffic. But by then, all the remaining injured were dead.

What a country.

"I saw traffic jams of ambulances immobilized by thoughtless spectators, with no efforts being made by track officials or police to clear the road"

Now this is another clear example that demonstates yet again how indisciplined the majority of the realm's natives are.

You can see it on the roads everyday when an ambulance is attempting to get to the scene of and accident or emergency "TIT"

Edited November 30, 2008 by john b good

[Dakhar]

I was there, too. What a sad, sad day for Thailand, not only because of the loss of life, but because of the behavior of the police, track officials, and most especially the spectors afterwards.

The car was in the right lane and veered to the left as if it might have broken the left axle, hitting the concrete barrier on the left side of the racetrack at high speed. Although it was only 300 meters into the course, this was an _extremely_ powerful car with perhaps as much as 900 horsepower running sub-10-second quarter mile times. I think it was about equivalent to a US NHRA Sport Compact class car. It could easily have been doing 150 miles per hour when it hit the wall. The initial impact toppled the 5000-pound concrete barrier, instantly turning it into a launch ramp causing the car to fly into the spectator area, heavily impacting several spectator cars and the people between them before returning to the track to rest upside down on the concrete barrier. I don't know how the driver could have survived the crash, as the final impact crushed the windshield pillar almost all the way into the driver's seat.

I actually participated in the event so I was mildly interested in the safety preparations, and I counted only one ambulance on and no helicopter. No more than five minutes before the crash I commented to my partner that there wasn't enough safety equipment further down the track, that they needed a 4-meter-high chain link fence with an inward curve at the top, and that I wouldn't go stand down there. I commented that if a dragster went into the crowd it could potentially kill over 100 people. She no doubt thought that I, as usual, was being overly risk-averse. Then BANG! Even before we heard any reports I said that was one of the worst crashes I've ever seen. After we heard the reports, I knew it was one of the worst crashes in world motorsport history, far worse than the famous Group B Portuguese Rally crash of 1986.

Once race officials knew the extent of the injuries they announced that the race was canceled, and hordes of specators jammed all access roads. It took a significant time before the squads of ambulances started arriving, perhaps twenty minutes or more. I saw traffic jams of ambulances immobilized by thoughtless spectators, with no efforts being made by track officials or police to clear the road. In the end I was running through the traffic jam, screaming at people to get the &lt;deleted&gt; out of the road so the ambulances could get through. Nobody moved. Not one person even pulled over.

Checking my camera's photo info, I see that the last photo before the crash was taken at 22:12, so the crash was at about 22:17. I have photos as late as 23:34, AN HOUR AND 17 MINUTES LATER, showing arriving ambulances stuck in traffic. But by then, all the remaining injured were dead.

What a country.

"I saw traffic jams of ambulances immobilized by thoughtless spectators, with no efforts being made by track officials or police to clear the road"

Now this is another clear example that demonstates yet again how indisciplined the majority of the realm's natives are.

You can see it on the roads everyday when an ambulance is attempting to get to the scene of and accident or emergency "TIT"

Yep,

My wife pulled that "not my problem" crap while I was in the car & she got an ear full.

[Dakhar]

After witnessing the accident last night i feel i should add this.

Bangkok drag avenue is a 1/4 mile drag strip with good safety standards and on site mobile medical teams.

The driver "fled" the scene in an ambulance, after being pulled his car which was on fire whilst he was inside it.

The Nations quote

"The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves."

In reality this was an organised event sponsored by Goodyear in which they spent over 4 million baht bringing a NZ dragster to and promoting the it as the GOODYEAR DRAG PARTY, looks like the corporate dont want any association to this sad evenings tragic ending.

Hopefully these people didnt die for nothing and the owners will improve on the tracks safety .

Thanks for the accurate report.

Sorry you had to see such a horrible thing too.

Thankfully the ambulances were on site.

Sounds better run that expected, but not quite good enough.

Still ALL drag races have accidents regularly...

Also good to have the impression about the driver clarified.

I hope he will make it.

My comment was more about drivers fleeing from street accidents,

thought it was a plausible here, people losing it in grief and going after the driver.

Well said you, and very well reported Hansgti. You illustrate how far 'The Nation' has slumped in it's standards of accuracy, let alone English language.

To the outsider, 2 drivers trying to out-accelerate each other down a straight quarter mile may look innocuous, but I've done it and it becomes a challenge just to keep the thing pointing straight with rear wheel drive and over 200 horsepower under your right foot. And some of these guys have 600hp-plus-plus.

I don't know the Bkk track, the car, or the organisers, but here in Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, where we regularly host drag meetings with Thailand's 10th fastest drag car (a VW Beetle!!) and others slightly slower, there has never been a tragedy like this.

I trust that this will be a real wake up/shake up call for better safety in every respect. What a tragedy for Thailand that this always seems to happen AFTER the event.

RIP, the innocents.

May daily driver had 200+ HP.... but that is the beauty of an M3

[ppcar]

After witnessing the accident last night i feel i should add this.

Bangkok drag avenue is a 1/4 mile drag strip with good safety standards and on site mobile medical teams.

The driver "fled" the scene in an ambulance, after being pulled his car which was on fire whilst he was inside it.

The Nations quote

"The race was a special event, held once a year for teenagers to race among themselves."

In reality this was an organised event sponsored by Goodyear in which they spent over 4 million baht bringing a NZ dragster to and promoting the it as the GOODYEAR DRAG PARTY, looks like the corporate dont want any association to this sad evenings tragic ending.

Hopefully these people didnt die for nothing and the owners will improve on the tracks safety .

Thanks for the accurate report.

Sorry you had to see such a horrible thing too.

Thankfully the ambulances were on site.

Sounds better run that expected, but not quite good enough.

Still ALL drag races have accidents regularly...

Also good to have the impression about the driver clarified.

I hope he will make it.

My comment was more about drivers fleeing from street accidents,

thought it was a plausible here, people losing it in grief and going after the driver.

Well said you, and very well reported Hansgti. You illustrate how far 'The Nation' has slumped in it's standards of accuracy, let alone English language.

To the outsider, 2 drivers trying to out-accelerate each other down a straight quarter mile may look innocuous, but I've done it and it becomes a challenge just to keep the thing pointing straight with rear wheel drive and over 200 horsepower under your right foot. And some of these guys have 600hp-plus-plus.

I don't know the Bkk track, the car, or the organisers, but here in Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, where we regularly host drag meetings with Thailand's 10th fastest drag car (a VW Beetle!!) and others slightly slower, there has never been a tragedy like this.

I trust that this will be a real wake up/shake up call for better safety in every respect. What a tragedy for Thailand that this always seems to happen AFTER the event.

RIP, the innocents.

May daily driver had 200+ HP.... but that is the beauty of an M3

Sorry for their families. This is Goodyear Racing GMG Drag 2008 VDO clip.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/nationvdo/showvdo.php?id=1623&name=News&cateid=13

[oneeyedmunstaruler]

Tragic. Anyway, better it happens there then down my neighourhood street like they used to do.

[Smithson]

Unfortunate drivers name. The recent Bangsean race meeting they brought FIA race inspectors here to see if a International race permit was possible but according to Bangkok Post the safety/crowd control was sorely lacking.

Nonetheless Goodyear went ahead and sponsored a race here, possibly for teenagers? Then the Nation forgot to mention Goodyear and the poor safety conditions.

I remember a few months ago the Bangkok Post took part in a drive from Phuket to Bangkok to test the efficiency of a new BMW. The journalist taking part reported with excitement that the cars would not be traveling at the normal 80 - 100km, but instead would be driving at 120kmh - 140kmh. Amazing Thailand.

[rayw]

My condolences to the family and friends of the victims.

I don't think most people would criticize the kids, but the folks that are setting up/sponsoring these events. Drag racing is more than just driving fast. It requires a lot of skill and that skill isn't exactly common in Thailand.

That's not to say that anyone person or group is responsible, but it would be wise to have professional people involved.

In Thailand, I think a demolition derby would be quite successful, however.

Like so much here in Thailand the lack of proper training and control is the cause. Like the many untrained and unlicensed small motorbikes on the roads that result in many fatal unnecessary accidents each day. I am a big big fan of all Motorsports but teenagers are generally too young and irresponsible to participate in public events such as this without first having a lot of training and supervision which I am unsure whether this was given here. Very sad for those that lost their lives and limbs.

[marcus]

My wife has lost her nephew in this tragic event.

I was shocked to hear that her family was offered a 5000 thb compensation to cover the funeral costs ... That's what the life of a guy in his early twenties with a degree from an university seems to be worth over here.

I advised them of course to hire a lawyer.

Are there any other TV members who know one of the victims ? Maybe we can join force ?

[dumball]

My wife has lost her nephew in this tragic event.

I was shocked to hear that her family was offered a 5000 thb compensation to cover the funeral costs ... That's what the life of a guy in his early twenties with a degree from an university seems to be worth over here.

I advised them of course to hire a lawyer.

Are there any other TV members who know one of the victims ? Maybe we can join force ?

I feel sorry to a certain extent for your loss , however , racing of any form is considered dangerous to both competitors and onlookers , most forms of motor sport made you sign a waver exonerating promotors and sponsers from liability for injuries that could or maybe sustained .Insurances that have become available over the years are very expensive and limiting in its scope . I sponsored and built special machinery for many racers over the years , but I also walked the tracks and noted danger factors to the promoters , failure to make changes meant my removal of riders from the programme , an injured or maimed rider was of no use to me and did not warrant the expenses involved .It is up to competitors to take some of the responsibility upon themselves .

[G54]

That's terrible that the Nation printed a line such as:

Tossapol Piemyai, the racer, fled the scene.

When it's clear, from the first hand accounts here, that this is very far from the truth. Down right libelous if you ask me.

I think they printed what they THOUGHT was truth,

and it was not illogical in LOS.

No word on a retraction, most people here don't get them short of a 1 billion baht lawsuit.

Newspapers the world over embelish what they believe are facts and turn them into some 'great story'. Now this driver is labelled as running away when he was taken off in an ambulance. He deserves the truth to be written.

Yes, RIP to those that died in this horrific accident.