Fatal Pattaya Baht-Bus Accident Caused By Drunk Canadian

[Rimmer]

Fatal Pattaya Baht-Bus Accident Caused by Drunk Canadian

PATTAYA: -- An intoxicated Canadian motorist on Friday morning caused a fatal car accident with a baht-bus at the Loma roundabout in North Pattaya, according to police. All twelve people involved in the accident were later transported to hospital, one Thai woman later dying of her injuries.

Pattaya, the 10th of September 2010 [PDN]: At approximately 4:00am on Friday, Lieutenant Chaliew Bunkhum (Pattaya Police Investigator) was notified of a severe car accident at the Loma roundabout in North Pattaya. At team of officers along with emergency response and rescue teams were dispatched to the incident to investigate.

At the scene, Pattaya Beach Road just off the Loma roundabout, officers observed the two involved vehicles, a blue Isuzu baht-bus and black Nissan frontier, positioned on the roadside in severely damaged states.

Full story HERE

PATTAYA DAILY NEWS

-- 2010-09-10

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[Jingthing]

That was a very serious accident and sympathies to all the victims. It is worth noting, however, that such accidents are very rare in the baht bus system here. Compared to motorcycles, they are a safe form of transport.

[TAWP]

Drunk driver causing an accident, how unexpected.

[gotlost]

RIP and Condolences for the injured.

[tonititan]

I hope the Canadian man is severely punished for what he did. Drinking & driving is never acceptable, even when you think you are "ok."

[bprinceuk]

R.I.P and condolences to the ladies family and friends. If it is proven that the Canadian was intoxicated and the cause of the accident hope he receives the max penalty from the Judge. Speedy recovery back to full health for the other injured persons

Brian

[neverdie]

Absolutely shocking, I just don't understand people that think they have a right to risk other people's lives by doing something so utterly stupid. It won't help the person that died but I hope this idiot feels the full weight of both the legal system and other compensation forms they have in place here in Thailand.

RIP to the deceased. I hope all those injured recover fully asap.

[doggie888888]

I hope the Canadian man is severely punished for what he did. Drinking & driving is never acceptable, even when you think you are "ok."

Agree 100%. Unfortunately, many people in Pattaya, both Thai and foreign, think it is quite acceptable to drink and drive. In this case, the unfortunate thing is that so many innocent people were injured. I frankly don't care about the drunk and can only hope this close shave was enough to teach him a lesson. What an idiot. Hope the police give him hel_l and all the victims claim compensation from him.

[tonititan]

Wow, that video clip is graphic. Kind of wishing I hadn't watched it. But, I guess it's a good reminder for people of the damage then can inflict when they do something as idiotic as drinking & driving.

[sirchai]

That was a very serious accident and sympathies to all the victims. It is worth noting, however, that such accidents are very rare in the baht bus system here. Compared to motorcycles, they are a safe form of transport.

My condolences to the lady's family and friends and a speedy recovery for the other victims.

Guess nothing happened to the Canadian, any information?

If guilty, let him pay...........................................

[Rimmer]

UPDATE

2 dead and many injured in North Pattaya Dolphin Roundabout crash

PATTAYA: Two people were killed on Friday in an early morning road crash at the Dolphin Roundabout in North Pattaya. The accident occurred at 4am and required a full response from Emergency Services and the Police. A Black Nissan Novara Pick-up driven by Mr. Francois Joseph Giannini aged 46, a Canadian National originally born in Beirut, collided with Baht Bus Number 531 driven by Khun Solot aged 28. The Baht Bus was carrying 10 people, 1 man and 9 women, all Thai Nationals. The Baht Bus Driver and a female passenger on the Baht Bus were pronounced dead-on-arrival at Hospital. Witnesses mentioned that the Black pick-up approached the roundabout from the Naklua Road and it appeared it was travelling towards Pattaya Beach Road. Instead of travelling clockwise around the roundabout and taking the second exit towards Pattaya Beach, the driver, Mr. Giannini, cut across the roundabout and travelled in an anti-clockwise direction and collided with the Baht Bus at a high rate of speed.

Full story HERE

-- Pattaya One 2010-09-10

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[Who, me ?]

Terrible.

At 04:00 am in a baht bus, they were certainly going to work , or working already for the driver... What a terrible thing.

Condolences to families and friends.

I wish for the drunk driver to face maximum penalty and compensation, and a long life with the weight of what he's done.

[cardholder]

Absolutely shocking, I just don't understand people that think they have a right to risk other people's lives by doing something so utterly stupid. It won't help the person that died but I hope this idiot feels the full weight of both the legal system and other compensation forms they have in place here in Thailand.

RIP to the deceased. I hope all those injured recover fully asap.

Agree 100%

[Buchholz]

Chonburi News - September 10, 2010

(Article in Thai)

http://www.chonburinews.com/Q1/thememenu.php?id=10554

unsurprisingly, this is generating a lot of attention in the Thai media, which also reporting that in addition to being suspected drunk while driving, that drug paraphernalia for smoking "ice" was also found on Canadian Francois Joseph Giannini.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Buchholz

[LennyW]

I hope the Canadian man is severely punished for what he did. Drinking & driving is never acceptable, even when you think you are "ok."

Agree 100%. Unfortunately, many people in Pattaya, both Thai and foreign, think it is quite acceptable to drink and drive. In this case, the unfortunate thing is that so many innocent people were injured. I frankly don't care about the drunk and can only hope this close shave was enough to teach him a lesson. What an idiot. Hope the police give him hel_l and all the victims claim compensation from him.

Hardly a close shave, two people died!!

[hardy1943]

Drunk driver causing an accident, how unexpected.

I have been all over the world and a lots of rowdy places. Pattaya was the only place I ever been and saw at 11 AM patrons falling off barstools on a regular basis.

This has to be the Sewer in the world not how it looks like but the people that hang out there.

[Gers1873]

Absolutely shocking, I just don't understand people that think they have a right to risk other people's lives by doing something so utterly stupid. It won't help the person that died but I hope this idiot feels the full weight of both the legal system and other compensation forms they have in place here in Thailand.

RIP to the deceased. I hope all those injured recover fully asap.

Agree 100%

Well dear Mr

lebanese-Canadian I hope you are feeling proud of yourself. --- your an IDIOT and I hope you serve a long sentence in the Bangkok Hilton. No tolerance for drunk drivers.

[hanno]

If drunk idiots driving only kill themselves, so much the better. The sad thing is that so often they take away innocent lives while suffering little or no injuries themselves.

One can only hope that he get the book thrown at him, even if that will be of little use for the diseased.

RIP and speedy recovery to the injured passengers on the Baht Bus.

[Arkady]

Terrible.

At 04:00 am in a baht bus, they were certainly going to work , or working already for the driver... What a terrible thing.

Condolences to families and friends.

I wish for the drunk driver to face maximum penalty and compensation, and a long life with the weight of what he's done.

Since the Pattaya police force is first and foremost a business organization, their main focus is going to be extorting money out of the Canadian for the injured and families of the deceased with a substantial commission for themselves, plus money for bail and quite possibly money for enhancing evidence in his favour. Whether he is guilty or not will not be important to them, as he is a windfall lode of gold to be mined as quickly as possible and being in his 40s they will assume he can wire substantial funds out. Any non-financial punishment will be a secondary consideration.

[huma79]

Drunk driver causing an accident, how unexpected.

I have been all over the world and a lots of rowdy places. Pattaya was the only place I ever been and saw at 11 AM patrons falling off barstools on a regular basis.

This has to be the Sewer in the world not how it looks like but the people that hang out there.

Agreed, Pattaya is the true "Brown Eye" of Thailand.

[asiawatcher]

The Canadian hopefully will spend the rest of his days in a tight Thai cell as someone's bitch!

[cocopops]

Drinking & driving is never acceptable, even when you think you are "ok."

This man speaks the truth.

The Canadian clown's selfishness has cost two lives. Drink driving is a significantly more despicable act than many things people get long jail sentences for.

[EvilDrSomkid]

Oh aren't we all jumping on the righteous indignation bandwagon about the bad FARANG who was drunk and speeding and killed people?

It is most certainly deplorable and I do not defend his actions whatsoever, but come on!

If this was an accident with a drunk and speeding Thai smashing his car into another Thai and killing him/her, it would not even register in the news. And it happens every day.

<deleted>! Its a tragedy but not news.

[Deeral]

It would have been nice if TV and others had used "allegedly" in reference to the Canadian Driver.I very much doubt if it is cut and dried yet.

As for the baht buses - don't believe they are all that safe. There's actually little more protection than a motorbike and after impact the trouble really starts........

Sitting in that position leaves passengers highly vulnerable to impacting with each other in the event of a collision and the superstructure is likely to become little more than a collection of lethal "spears" as it disintegrates.I have witnessed a motorcyclist colliding with the rear of a baht bus and he actually continued into the vehicle himself, sustaining more injuries from the railings "adorning" the rear of the vehicle.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Deeral

[GeorgeO]

I hope the Canadian man is severely punished for what he did. Drinking & driving is never acceptable, even when you think you are "ok."

Agree 100%. Unfortunately, many people in Pattaya, both Thai and foreign, think it is quite acceptable to drink and drive. In this case, the unfortunate thing is that so many innocent people were injured. I frankly don't care about the drunk and can only hope this close shave was enough to teach him a lesson. What an idiot. Hope the police give him hel_l and all the victims claim compensation from him.

I wholeheartedly agree, and I hope that our hosts, the Thai community, see that there is a general consensus amongst us, the farang coomunity, that Mr. Gianninni should feel the full brunt of the law, as well as the consequences of the effects on the victims and/or families concerned.

It would seem that there is sufficient evidence to show that he caused this havoc by reckless driving alone, irrespective of whether it is subsequently shown that he was under the influence of alcohol.

Judging by the distance that the victims were thrown from the vehicle, he must have been travelling at phenomenal speed!

[Guderian]

Very sad, RIP to the deceased and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. The stupid Canadian should go to prison for a long time.

One of the problems with the Baht buses is that the roofs are very flimsy, there's no structural strength there at all. I saw an accident outside View Talay 1 a few years back and I could only assume that the bus must have been empty for there to have been no seriously injured or dead. The roof of the Baht bus had literally crumpled down onto the passenger seating area. Maybe they should install proper roll bars on these vehicles?

[tonititan]

Oh aren't we all jumping on the righteous indignation bandwagon about the bad FARANG who was drunk and speeding and killed people?

It is most certainly deplorable and I do not defend his actions whatsoever, but come on!

If this was an accident with a drunk and speeding Thai smashing his car into another Thai and killing him/her, it would not even register in the news. And it happens every day.

<deleted>! Its a tragedy but not news.

Yes, I will admit that I rarely see Thai-Thai accidents like this in the news, but that is probably because I cannot read Thai and do not have cable. If I did see stories like that, I can guarantee you that I would be just as furious.

And yes, it is horrible for this to happen at all, but I think it adds a whole new dimension when it is a GUEST in Thailand who does something stupid and the locals are the ones who suffer.

[ppmacready]

R.I.P and condolences to the ladies family and friends. If it is proven that the Canadian was intoxicated and the cause of the accident hope he receives the max penalty from the Judge. Speedy recovery back to full health for the other injured persons

Brian

Normaly 1 million baht makes this problem go away for a Falang.

Unless this guy is very unlucky and the western media picks it up.

[cardholder]

It is interesting that this idiotic offender is now referred to as "The Canadian".

It shows that the damage he has caused extends to bringing his countries name into reporting, and thereby, risking tarnishing that name. The same applied to Purcell ("The Australian") and the moronic Brit, Savage.

The fact remains that the nationality of the offender is irrelevant but inevitably will reflect on Falangs generally.

[zaxusa]

Wasted, jacked up on ice, speeding and going the wrong way on the round about.

what an IDIOT!!

especially when it only cost ten baht for ride home on a baht bus.