Car Crash Claims Life Of Local Hotel Owner

[joe84330]

one of my staff is reading the local paper online and has found photos and a story indicating that at about 7 30am today, the owner of the bayview hotels/ laguna etc was perhaps driving a bit too fast between chaweng and lamai and could not make the turn at the huge rock formation between Coral Cove and the Cliff. Collision with a truck full of construction workers , sent a bunch of them to the hospital including one pregnant woman. Report says he was driving a "very fast car" ford mustang.

[chiang mai]

Many sympathies to the Burmese workers and I hope they all recover quickly and are adequately compensated.

[screamingeagle]

He was driving a "very fast car". OK TIT. But whatever happens, do you really think the Burmese workers will get any sort of compensation? I think not!

[chiang mai]

He was driving a "very fast car". OK TIT. But whatever happens, do you really think the Burmese workers will get any sort of compensation? I think not!

And I think not also - but it would have been in bad taste to post something more pertinent about someone driving a Mustang .... etc. Sad which ever way you look at it but unfortunately most viewers will likely see the death as the main tragedy.

[goldfinger]

from the OP: reading the local paper online and has found photos ""

which local paper????

[BigC]

never seen a ford Mustang on the island. can't be many of them. specially now. i not comment on the morality on the accident as i don't knwo the full story.

[OriginalPoster]

never seen a ford Mustang on the island. can't be many of them. specially now. i not comment on the morality on the accident as i don't knwo the full story.

There was a vintage 1960's Mustang always parked by one of the mountain top villas between Lamai and Chaweng. That's the only Mustang I can recall seeing on the island. It's hard to imagine that anyone would have been driving that one fast on the public roads though, it looked more like a car that was pampered to the extreme - the sort of car that only would get driven to car shows and maybe taken out for a drive on other special occasions.

Edited February 23, 2010 by OriginalPoster

[Tracer Round]

It was a candy apple red convertible, probably 1968. The car is not only a classic, but worth a mint. I've seen it on the road a few times. My guess is that it might have been towed back to it's parking space at Bayview (and that's Bayview between Lamai and Chaweng, not the Bayview near Renaissance).

[ongoing]

If he was driving ' very very fast ' i am happy he hit a truck and not some poor person on a motorbike. I hope they clean the mess of his car up fast and leave to glass on the road so any motorbikes dont get flat tyres becuase of it. Also the most important thing is , i hope all the burmese workers who where on the truck are ok and fully recover. It would be a good gesture if the family / hotel owned by this guy would pay some money for the burmese workers hospital bills.

[carmine]

If he was driving ' very very fast ' i am happy he hit a truck and not some poor person on a motorbike. I hope they clean the mess of his car up fast and leave to glass on the road so any motorbikes dont get flat tyres becuase of it. Also the most important thing is , i hope all the burmese workers who where on the truck are ok and fully recover. It would be a good gesture if the family / hotel owned by this guy would pay some money for the burmese workers hospital bills.

The paper did'nt say he was driving "very very fast" did it?

And during your month here did you ever notice how fast those trucks full of workers run around at. If you have'nt noticed, i'll tell you it's a very scary sight. Maybe this one was going very very fast.

You seem to make a lot of rash judgement calls don't you. One of the things i have learnt here is not to read too much into what the local papers say. Anyways, i do think anything is clear yet on this one

Edited February 23, 2010 by carmine

[joe84330]

from the OP: reading the local paper online and has found photos ""

which local paper????

it was the thai rath website, with local samui coverage

[OriginalPoster]

If he was driving ' very very fast ' i am happy he hit a truck and not some poor person on a motorbike. I hope they clean the mess of his car up fast and leave to glass on the road so any motorbikes dont get flat tyres becuase of it. Also the most important thing is , i hope all the burmese workers who where on the truck are ok and fully recover. It would be a good gesture if the family / hotel owned by this guy would pay some money for the burmese workers hospital bills.

Why do we assume that the farang in the "fast car" (which actually was a 40+ collectors' car of the sort that people usually drive slowly so that everyone else can see whose inside it) was at fault instead of the driver of the truck? Is it just because the driver of the truck lived to tell his story and the farang did not? Or perhaps because the farang committed the sin of being rich and having a conspicuously nice car?

Edited February 23, 2010 by OriginalPoster

[joe84330]

If he was driving ' very very fast ' i am happy he hit a truck and not some poor person on a motorbike. I hope they clean the mess of his car up fast and leave to glass on the road so any motorbikes dont get flat tyres becuase of it. Also the most important thing is , i hope all the burmese workers who where on the truck are ok and fully recover. It would be a good gesture if the family / hotel owned by this guy would pay some money for the burmese workers hospital bills.

Why do we assume that the farang in the "fast car" (which actually was a 40+ collectors' car of the sort that people usually drive slowly so that everyone else can see whose inside it) was at fault instead of the driver of the truck? Is it just because the driver of the truck lived to tell his story and the farang did not? Or perhaps because the farang committed the sin of being rich and having a conspicuously nice car?

the hotel owner killed in the accident was thai, not farang. according to the article which was written in thai he was driving too fast for the road and conditions and was not able to make the turn at which point he struck the construction truck.

[OriginalPoster]

If he was driving ' very very fast ' i am happy he hit a truck and not some poor person on a motorbike. I hope they clean the mess of his car up fast and leave to glass on the road so any motorbikes dont get flat tyres becuase of it. Also the most important thing is , i hope all the burmese workers who where on the truck are ok and fully recover. It would be a good gesture if the family / hotel owned by this guy would pay some money for the burmese workers hospital bills.

Why do we assume that the farang in the "fast car" (which actually was a 40+ collectors' car of the sort that people usually drive slowly so that everyone else can see whose inside it) was at fault instead of the driver of the truck? Is it just because the driver of the truck lived to tell his story and the farang did not? Or perhaps because the farang committed the sin of being rich and having a conspicuously nice car?

the hotel owner killed in the accident was thai, not farang. according to the article which was written in thai he was driving too fast for the road and conditions and was not able to make the turn at which point he struck the construction truck.

His speed and recklessness was no doubt based upon what the driver of the truck told the police. Dead men tell no stories, so the truck driver's story prevails.

[quiksilva]

A little respect please people.

I don't feel its appropriate to speculate over the nature of what happened when we do not know all the facts, I did however receive word of this event via AUSCHAM yesterday.

The Passing of Khun Sutipong Ittipong, AustCham VP

Dear friends and AustCham members,

The Chamber was shaken today by the news of a tragic accident this morning in Koh Samui. On his way to the airport, long acting AustCham Vice-President Khun Sutipong Ittipong lost his life in a tragic car accident.

AustCham would like to offer heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, business colleagues and all those who knew Khun Sutipong during his extensive time working with the Chamber.

Since his election to AustCham's Board of Directors almost 16 years ago, Khun Sutipong was Chairman of the Community-Services portfolio and accomplished some outstanding achievements that impacted many lives. In 2006, on the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, he donated a foetal heart monitor to the Panthong Hospital after raising Baht 400,000. During the following year, he chaired the very successful project to build a Bakery Training Centre at Kanch anaburi School for the Deaf in honor of HM the King's 80th Birthday. He has also organised and contributed to many other charities including the donation of water filtration systems, computers, and books to schools across Kanchanaburi, Chonburi and Rayong.

Outside of his work for the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Khun Sutipong was also remarkable in the business community. He held the position of Senior Executive Vice President of Siam City Bank PCL. In addition, he also held a number of other esteemed positions such as Chairman of Samui Laguna Resort Co., Ltd., Executive Chairman of Samui Bayview Villa and Resort Co., Ltd. and Director of Charan Insurance Co., Ltd.

He will be truly missed by many from not only by what he achieved, but also his character. Khun Sutipong was a warm and generous person. An extremely friendly individual who always had time to stop and say 'hello!' He possessed good business acumen and was an asset to the Board in term s of business as well being a pleasure to have around. To this generous soul, may he rest in peace.

Bathing rites will be held at Sala Jurin - Sa Nguan Lumsum at 16:30 on Tuesday, 23 February.

The religious rites will be followed at 19:30 and continue for the following six days from 19:00 with the last day on Monday, 1 March.

The Cremation Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 2 March.

Regretfully it is not possible to send individual invitations.

AustCham would like to join with everyone in paying respect to Khun Sutipong and will be hosting part of the funeral procession. We will post details on the website in the near future.

Edited February 23, 2010 by quiksilva

[screamingeagle]

It's always the farang's fault (forget the actual facts) so Thais can claim compensation.

[Tony121]

Well I was out driving that same morning in bophut on the new tarmac and after the rain about 7.00am it was extremely slippery i went to overtake a pickup that had pulled out in front of me and my car went all over the place,

I also have seen the mustang being driven round the island and I never saw it being driven fast.

R.I.P

[t.s]

It's always the farang's fault (forget the actual facts) so Thais can claim compensation.

need we point out again no farang was involved?

[parallaxtech]

Khun Sutipong was a very kind person and meticulous businessman -- a rare combination in Thailand. He treated Thais and farangs with equal respect and went out of his way to help a farang in need. I first met him years ago on a flight from KS to Bangkok. He offered to assist me in any matter, modestly mentioning that he was connected all the way to the top in Thailand. Upon landing we were met by his bodyguards and chauffeur, so I had a feeling that he was a man of some importance. Even though I didn't like bothering this busy man, he always took the time to advise me on matters over the years. Thailand would be a much better place if others tried to emulate this great man. One verse from Rudyard Kipling's If sums it all up:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

Of course we can only speculate on what happened, but to be racing around KS would be very out-of-character for someone who was usually in his chauffeur-driven mercedes. I only hope there are more like him in Thailand.

Edited February 24, 2010 by parallaxtech

[crusty]

never seen a ford Mustang on the island. can't be many of them. specially now. i not comment on the morality on the accident as i don't knwo the full story.

There was a vintage 1960's Mustang always parked by one of the mountain top villas between Lamai and Chaweng. That's the only Mustang I can recall seeing on the island. It's hard to imagine that anyone would have been driving that one fast on the public roads though, it looked more like a car that was pampered to the extreme - the sort of car that only would get driven to car shows and maybe taken out for a drive on other special occasions.

Samui roads do not lend themselves to Left Hand Drive vehicles. R.I.P. my friend

[SamuiDude]

Khun Sutipong was a very kind person and meticulous businessman -- a rare combination in Thailand. He treated Thais and farangs with equal respect and went out of his way to help a farang in need. I first met him years ago on a flight from KS to Bangkok. He offered to assist me in any matter, modestly mentioning that he was connected all the way to the top in Thailand. Upon landing we were met by his bodyguards and chauffeur, so I had a feeling that he was a man of some importance. Even though I didn't like bothering this busy man, he always took the time to advise me on matters over the years. Thailand would be a much better place if others tried to emulate this great man. One verse from Rudyard Kipling's If sums it all up:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

Of course we can only speculate on what happened, but to be racing around KS would be very out-of-character for someone who was usually in his chauffeur-driven mercedes. I only hope there are more like him in Thailand.

Respect.