Phuket Hit-And-Run: Young Couple Killed Instantly

[webfact]

Phuket hit-and-run: Young couple killed instantly

The pickup hit the young couple head-on, then smashed into a large

road sign. The smaller blue sign on the right instructs bicycles and

motorbikes to keep left.

Workers from the Phuket Ruamjai Kupai Foundation prepare the victims'

bodies for transport to the morgue.

PHUKET: -- A young couple on a motorbike died instantly in a head-on collision with a pickup truck in Phuket this morning.

Police are now seeking the driver, who abandoned the wrecked vehicle at the scene and fled on foot.

Arriving at the scene on Chao Fa East Road in Chalong shortly after 6am, officers found the bodies 28-year-old Prasertsri Panchanan, from Maha Sarakham province, and Marisa Sawangyen, 22, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat.

Both had suffered massive head trauma and other injuries.

Crashed into a large road sign nearby was the pickup, bearing Udon Thani license plates.

Witnesses said Mr Prasertsri was riding southbound toward Chalong Circle with Miss Marisa riding pillion when they approached the scene of an accident involving two motorbikes.

In order to avoid the vehicles and injured people in the road, Mr Prasertsri apparently steered into the oncoming lane.

His motorbike collided head-on with the pickup, which then crashed into the roadside sign.

Both the driver of the pickup and a passenger with him immediately fled on foot.

They are now sought by Chalong Police.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-11-03

[def2708]

R.I.P.

[ilyelol]

In order to avoid the vehicles and injured people in the road, Mr Prasertsri apparently steered into the oncoming lane.

His motorbike collided head-on with the pickup, which then crashed into the roadside sign.

what?

So instead of breaking and moving around them slowly on his own lane he decided to keep speeding into oncoming traffic and the pickup killed those 2 people.

Why would he run? it seems like the motorbikers are the idiots there

[ableguy]

It seems that in Thailand in every motor bike accident involving another vehicle the larger vehicle is held to blame and this applies to Thais as well as farangs

[laurentbkk]

Hard to understand what happened there but if the pick up driver ran away ,it might be for some good reason , its very usual in Thailand apparently to run away when drivers do something wrong ,another story with this Truck also in Phuket not long ago killing also ,did the police found the driver ? For this pick up at least there is registration on plate so it might be easy to find the driver after all. Why those killers dont take their responsibilities ? Really hard to understand .

[Old Croc]

In order to avoid the vehicles and injured people in the road, Mr Prasertsri apparently steered into the oncoming lane.

His motorbike collided head-on with the pickup, which then crashed into the roadside sign.

what?

So instead of breaking and moving around them slowly on his own lane he decided to keep speeding into oncoming traffic and the pickup killed those 2 people.

Why would he run? it seems like the motorbikers are the idiots there

How fast was the pick-up going past the scene of an accident on wet roads?

Massive head injuries, wearing helmets?

Sad, but symptomatic. RIP

[shaunoro]

Perhaps the driver of the pick up was drunk or on some thing.

Hence running.

Were the unfortunate couple on the bike wearing helmets?

[Pi Sek]

Hard to understand what happened there but if the pick up driver ran away ,it might be for some good reason , its very usual in Thailand apparently to run away when drivers do something wrong ,another story with this Truck also in Phuket not long ago killing also ,did the police found the driver ? For this pick up at least there is registration on plate so it might be easy to find the driver after all. Why those killers dont take their responsibilities ? Really hard to understand .

You've got it a little wrong here - the lorry driver who ran a red light at the Tesco Lotus crossroads going towards Big C didn't flee, although the Phuket Gazette initially reported he did. He was the person soberly talking to the police about how his brakes failed forcing him to run the 'yellow' light. The cameraman ran past the front of my car, he seemed awfully happy to have the opportunity to photograph a dead body

Thais run because they're embarrassed about being in an accident and don't want other Thai people to see them faced with a demand for an explanation. That's what I think anyway.

From my interpretation, the motorbike was at fault here. Maybe the pickup driver ran because... 1) he was from Udon Thani and didn't want to deal with southern police; 2) he was driving the larger vehicle and didn't want to accept fault (doesn't explain him running away, but is common here); 3) he was drunk; 4) he could have avoided the motorbike but chose not to because of Thai highway big-car-trumps-motorbike road traffic manners; 5) he didn't want to lose face in public; 6) any of all of the above; 7) some other reason that I haven't thought of or wouldn't understand.

Nonetheless, blame is one thing - but the simple fact is that there were two more people killed on the road again, so condolences are due. Traffic accidents happen all the time everywhere, but they're still tragic.

[LivinLOS]

This happened at 5:30 - 6am.. I think its fair to assume that the possibility is some of the participants may not have been sober.

Hence the leaving the scene etc.

[BillR]

someone nearby the accident is saying on the gazette comments that it was the truck that pulled into oncoming traffic to avoid another accident. That would explain the fleeing. The 2 girls were on their way to work at a hotel according to the witness in the gazette comments.

[Gonsalviz]

You've got it a little wrong here - the lorry driver who ran a red light at the Tesco Lotus crossroads going towards Big C didn't flee, although the Phuket Gazette initially reported he did. He was the person soberly talking to the police about how his brakes failed forcing him to run the 'yellow' light. The cameraman ran past the front of my car, he seemed awfully happy to have the opportunity to photograph a dead body

Thais run because they're embarrassed about being in an accident and don't want other Thai people to see them faced with a demand for an explanation. That's what I think anyway.

From my interpretation, the motorbike was at fault here. Maybe the pickup driver ran because... 1) he was from Udon Thani and didn't want to deal with southern police; 2) he was driving the larger vehicle and didn't want to accept fault (doesn't explain him running away, but is common here); 3) he was drunk; 4) he could have avoided the motorbike but chose not to because of Thai highway big-car-trumps-motorbike road traffic manners; 5) he didn't want to lose face in public; 6) any of all of the above; 7) some other reason that I haven't thought of or wouldn't understand.

Nonetheless, blame is one thing - but the simple fact is that there were two more people killed on the road again, so condolences are due. Traffic accidents happen all the time everywhere, but they're still tragic.

They run from the scene usually because they will be blamed by the locals for killing people and possibly killed themselves. The police usually find them at home or a temple.

[Valentine]

someone nearby the accident is saying on the gazette comments that it was the truck that pulled into oncoming traffic to avoid another accident. That would explain the fleeing. The 2 girls were on their way to work at a hotel according to the witness in the gazette comments.

To me this seems more likely as the pickup hit the sign on the opposite side of the road.

[pmgthailand]

They should make the penalty for running away more severe than the penalty for the cause of the accident. Seems only sensible, but hey TIT. Very sorry to hear yet another tragic loss of lives on Phuket's roads.