Bangkok Cabbie Kills British Woman, Injures Her Friend In Hit-And-Run

[Briggsy]

The drawing of the scene shows the accident was on Sathorn Road, a major 4-lane thoroughfare, not in Soi Suan Phlu but near Soi Suan Phlu. Knowing that info, it is much easier to see how he could have been doing 70 kmh and how dangerous it is to cross this road. Indeed there are bridges for pedestrians but the culture here is not to use them.

[slapout]

He stopped 50 metres away, and his passenger "jumped out and took another cab".

I asked myself "What would I have done"?

Where does it say that about the Passenger ?

This was mentioned in one of the newspapers. This is not uncommon for people wanting to stay out of any possible ligation proceeding in this part of the world.

In some places the passenger may be viewed as responsible as the cab would not have been there, but for him/her. This is normally applied to non citizens, but their have even been residents caught up in this thinking/attitude.

[BKKBrit]

He stopped 50 metres away, and his passenger "jumped out and took another cab".

I asked myself "What would I have done"?

Where does it say that about the Passenger ?

Goodness me. Read the article and the links provided. Top Charoen have great deals on reading glasses.

[lovelomsak]

Reading all of these posts reminded me of some friends who came to Thailand for the first time. I was doing my best to help them and give what I considered good advice.

One afternoon in Pitsanulok we were trying to cross a street.one lane each way. I told them to wait for a clear opening to cross. One of the women in the group decided the cars should stop for a pedestrian same as in Canada.She ran out in front of a car the driver swerved to miss her and just about took all the rest of us out, and kept going. All I could think is "what a bull headed woman just about got me killed." The next day I bid them farewell and left them to their own devices. So who knows maybe these women decided to cross with the same assumption, (the cars must stop for a pedestrian). Not saying they did but have in real life experienced a moment when someone acted on the assumption the cars must stop.

I sympathise, but I'd like to make a point about Thai drivers and their treatment of pedestrians. Whilst reckless driving is extremely common in Thailand, Thai drivers generally accommodate pedestrians crossing the road by slowing down or driving round them, or even letting them safely cross. Compare what happens in, for example, Egypt or China, where drivers give no quarter and just keep on coming, leaving it up to you to jump out of the way, and you can say that Thai drivers are quite considerate to pedestrians. They know that in most cases pedestrians just have to chance it when crossing the road, and they mostly accommodate to them because of that, perhaps with a bit of Buddhist compassion thrown in. .

You may believe what you wrote here but I feel thousands wouldnot agree. I think 3 strong disbelievers would be the 2 young woman and the policeman who was run over by a Farrari.

Also remember many Thais believe if you do hit someone with your car run over them again to make sure their dead.That makes for an easier settlement.

If you read my oringinal post as it was intented to be read,I was trying to give an example of the foreigners mentality about crossing the road can be a strong contributor to the problem. But somehow you came out to address Thai driver skills. Sometimes I just cannot grasp how people read and comprehend.

If you want to address me about something try to make it about something I said here ok.

Also I have been bumped would you like to call it twice in Thailand Once in Khon Khan on a sidewalk when a Mercedes driver wanted to enter a hotel and simply turned into the hotel driveway well I was walking along on the sidewalk that the driveway went through. Just knocked me down slight bump. So slight he didnot even stop to help me up. Second time was Bangkok On Sukhumvit Road I was crossing the road on a red light a driver on the intersecting road wanted to turn right ,I was about 1 and 1/2 steps from being off the road onto the sidewalk,he bumped me and knocked me down against the curb and kept driving.

You use Egpyt and China as your example. Try using the country of origin these women were from. They donot base their everyday actions on Egypt,but on homeland experiences.

Edited September 16, 2012 by lovelomsak

[osiboy]

A British woman and her friend from Scotland? Isn't Scotland part of Britain?

Sad, tragic and unnecessary. This taxi driver should be made an example of so the message gets across.

scot,irish,welsh,...........we are all english in thailand, did'nt you know ? geography is not taught in thai schools unfortunately, amazes me how they find there way home !......the british embassy does'nt help either with photos and pictures of only london and parts of england

not important when compared to another life lost ............very sad ,RIP

[NangrongJ]

Yes agreed osiboy. It's all ignorance and some die of it!

Just say whisky (not whiskey) and they are enlightened about geography.

[brewsterbudgen]

Another tourist leaves Thailand in a box....Dreadful

Except she wasn't a tourist, she worked in Sathorn (according to the Bangkok Post).

[Beetlejuice]

Complete Bas---ds.

Whoever is responsible for causing the accident, you don`t just leave someone in the road or in the gutter in the p—ssing of rain to die like a dog, without trying to give or calling for assistance.

The driver and his passenger are heartless, selfish pigs, sub human, pure and simple. I hope the legal system here will see this in the same way, but somehow I doubt it and true justice will not prevail.

The best I can wish for these sorts of people is that they too will someday find themselves in a similar situation, where they end up critically injured somewhere and left to die in fear and pain like vermin.

My heartfelt condolences to the nearest and dearest of these tragic young precious girls who believed they were on an adventure or working trip of a lifetime, but instead found themselves in hell and have probably never done any harm to anyone.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Beetlejuice

[asiawatcher]

The Hit and Run bit is normal here, mostly because far to often the crowds will beat or kill the drivers of car pedestrian accidents, and the Thais all know this, and never know if they will stop and wait for police, or find themselves in a losing life or death struggle from something done accidentally.

The fact that most turn themselves into police a short time later, shows they understand what to do,

but want to survive doing the right thing.

In this case accident at 4am, and he turns himself in and tells his side at 6:30 am.

The Ferrari Red Bull heir not at all, just a weasel trying to blame his servent.

RIP to the poor lady and quick recovery to her Scots friend.

Totally agree - he did the right thing by turning himself in irrespective of the circumstances. I wonder is:

a - the passenger who jumped out and got another taxi will have the presence of doing the right thing and come forward with a corroborative statement or

b - the law will be adjudicated as manslaughter by accident despite admitted speed and ignorance of traffic rules.

Whatever the outcome, chances are autopsy on the deceased lady may well find (speculation) at 0400 they were intoxicated thus contributing to the accident by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The comparisons between how this pans out against the rich heir of Red Bull and a lowly taxi driver will be interesting parallels.

Edited September 16, 2012 by asiawatcher

[TwoDogz]

Have not the whole thread.

But, obviously that was not in soi 3, but on sathorn rd so 70k's is not unusual...rain should/could make a difference though and at 4am do not dismiss it being the girls fault for perhaps wandering into the path if drunk...no idea if this si the case, but could well not be the drivers fault if it happened like he said and hit on right side because he swerved and at the very least he turned himself in...so good on him for that, not a common theme here in this country.

[philw]

It's pretty clear that the taxi driver carries little blame for this sad accident.

I hope the courts will treat him leniently.

It's an accident and accidents happen.

[Jim walker]

I drive between 40 & 50K miles a year and if anyone steps out in front of me regardless of whether rain snow or any road conditions I just STOP and I am sure I have had to stop hundreds of times over my years of driving its very a very simple manoeuvre to do stopping, I also will admit accidents do happen but a little bit of forethought can often avoid an accident, like driving at a speed suitable for the road conditions.

[NangrongJ]

PHILW - It is not pretty clear and he should have driven according to the conditions. An example must be made of such reckless and dangerous driving so others get the message.

[sjaak327]

The accused:

Thai Rath news (article in Thai)

http://www.thairath....t/region/291299

===========================================================

Heavily pixelated photos of the victim and the crash scene:

Ban Muang (article in Thai)

http://www.banmuang....ger;ฦ/

=========================================================

Drawing of the crash scene:

Daily News (article in Thai)

http://www.dailynews...th/crime/155289

Seems The Nation may have missed a few things here:

The diagram in the Daily news showst the accident scene as Sathorn Road proper, not Soi 3 (Suanphlu). Nevertheless, 80 Km/H seems like excessive speed in the rain.

The DN article also reports that witnesses called in the number and color of the taxi to a radio station popular with taxi drivers and commuters. Therefore the driver was likely aware that his capture was imminent. Hence, he decided to turn himself in to secure a discount on his sentence, seeing as he wasn't likely to get a way with his crime anyway.

I used to live very near the accident scene. Although the area is heavily populated, cars routinely use this stretch of road like a raceway. Due to a lack of convenient pedestrian crossings, many people unfortunately take the risk of crossing at street level.

Actually there is a overpass about 300 meters towards the river from Suan Plu.

[finnomick1]

So ' lucky ' he gave himself up. Our 12 year old niece was killed in a hit and run 4 months ago. We'll never know who killed her. The drivers of 2 other pickups involved didn't stop either leaving the mother to pick up the remains of her daughter.....amazing <deleted> Thailand ?

[sirchai]

A tragic death, and a totally unnecessary death caused by the admitted speed and driving conditions. It goes partly back to the lack of driver training discussed on another thread but at the end of the day it was culpable and reckless driving on the part of the taxi driver. At least this man had the conscience to put his hands up and admit to the accident after fleeing the scene.

I'm so sorry that this young lady has lost her life so needlessly, and I hope that Lauren, ( a fellow Scot ) gets the best medical care and makes a full recovery. It will be a long recovery for this young lady and I hope that she has friends in Bangkok to assist her, over and above the embassy staff.

We should limit the inquest and speculation as it's very likely that friends and family will come across this thread, such a tragic and needless loss.

So sorry Joanna,

"At least this man had the conscience to put his hands up and admit to the accident after fleeing the scene". Most likely not the case. Taxi was a rental so had to be returned to depot. discussions were had to see if there may have been a way to hide the crime and for money to change hands. owner of taxi said no, so guy had to own up or the owner would give his names and details anyway. took over 2 hours for him to get over his 'shock' and come forward. how long were these young ladies lying in the street before assistance came.

Sorry for the negativity on my part but living here makes you a suspicious person about some thais and their motives whether well intentioned or not.

Condolences to the deceased and her family and a speedy recovery to the other young lady.

This guy's from Ubon Ratchathani. He called his wife after fleeing the scene and she'd told him to go to the cops.It's often good to listen to your wife. RIP for the deceased and a speedy recovery for the other one-----

[dundee48]

Do you people actually read the OP before posting.It clearly states the taxi driver has been charged with fleeing the scene of an accident among other things.

[TwoDogz]

So ' lucky ' he gave himself up. Our 12 year old niece was killed in a hit and run 4 months ago. We'll never know who killed her. The drivers of 2 other pickups involved didn't stop either leaving the mother to pick up the remains of her daughter.....amazing <deleted> Thailand ?

That is quite poor that a child is killed and nobody will ever know who did it.

Hopefully the person that did do it drowns themselves in alcohol and pulls the trigger one day...but thats a western concept, does not seem to happen here...guilt that is.

I also had a family member killed in a hit and run.

[sirchai]

So ' lucky ' he gave himself up. Our 12 year old niece was killed in a hit and run 4 months ago. We'll never know who killed her. The drivers of 2 other pickups involved didn't stop either leaving the mother to pick up the remains of her daughter.....amazing <deleted> Thailand ?

I'm very sorry to hear that. When I moved to Thailand and stopped a few times when I saw terrible accidents, my wife had always told me not to.

One day when I stopped where two women on a motorbike got hit and injured by a hit and run freak, nobody knew who did it.....

It rained "cats and dogs" people were standing in the middle of the road holding umbrellas over the victims. But it was a high way coming into our town where some are driving 120km +.

So I jumped into my Pick Up, switched all available warning lights on and could at least avoid another accident. When people wanted to use my Pick Up, I had to tell them no, please wait for the "rescue" car.

Rescue car showed up, threw them on the back of their Pick Up and straight to the hospital.

I went back to my Thai friend, ordered a beer when cops drove around looking for my car. The story was changed into a foreigner made this accident.

Would I really stop again and help somebody? Or let's put it this way: Would you go to the Bronx, wearing a lot of gold and diamonds?

I'ts all very sad and tragic, but i do not see an end of their behavior. You could just drive away acting you didn't see this accident, and your wife/husband/ son etc...would die there, without having anybody to help.

[tropo]

I went back to my Thai friend, ordered a beer when cops drove around looking for my car. The story was changed into a foreigner made this accident.

... so what happened then? Did they find your car? Did they charge you?

[tropo]

That's a matter of opinion... yours apparently being the only one that matters. I'm sure you are the kind of person who needs to have the last word. So feel free to reply. Me, I'm moving on with my day.

Sarcasm aside.... Just to clarify, there will never be compliance to road rules in any country UNLESS there is strict enforcement. It's the same anywhere on the planet. Surely you don't believe that drivers anywhere will drive safely in the absence of strict enforcement?

You think this is an opinion? It's a well established fact of life.

Edited September 16, 2012 by tropo

[robblok]

That's a matter of opinion... yours apparently being the only one that matters. I'm sure you are the kind of person who needs to have the last word. So feel free to reply. Me, I'm moving on with my day.

Sarcasm aside.... Just to clarify, there will never be compliance to road rules in any country UNLESS there is strict enforcement. It's the same anywhere on the planet. Surely you don't believe that drivers anywhere will drive safely in the absence of strict enforcement?

You think this is an opinion? It's a well established fact of life.

Of course its not only driver training that makes the average westerner a better driver its the enforcement. If people know they can get away with something they will. More expats here drink and drive then back home.. why.. because there is a bigger chance to get away with it.

[simple1]

So ' lucky ' he gave himself up. Our 12 year old niece was killed in a hit and run 4 months ago. We'll never know who killed her. The drivers of 2 other pickups involved didn't stop either leaving the mother to pick up the remains of her daughter.....amazing <deleted> Thailand ?

That is quite poor that a child is killed and nobody will ever know who did it.

Hopefully the person that did do it drowns themselves in alcohol and pulls the trigger one day...but thats a western concept, does not seem to happen here...guilt that is.

I also had a family member killed in a hit and run.

Me too here in Thailand, 30 minutes later police stopped and arrested the driver who was a farang

[tropo]

That's a matter of opinion... yours apparently being the only one that matters. I'm sure you are the kind of person who needs to have the last word. So feel free to reply. Me, I'm moving on with my day.

Sarcasm aside.... Just to clarify, there will never be compliance to road rules in any country UNLESS there is strict enforcement. It's the same anywhere on the planet. Surely you don't believe that drivers anywhere will drive safely in the absence of strict enforcement?

You think this is an opinion? It's a well established fact of life.

Of course its not only driver training that makes the average westerner a better driver its the enforcement. If people know they can get away with something they will. More expats here drink and drive then back home.. why.. because there is a bigger chance to get away with it.

.. which led me to make the comment that fstarbkk couldn't grasp. i.e. it's the government's responsibility to make the roads safe. There's no other way. It's would be a huge investment on the part of the government which they obviously don't want to make. The cops are too busy lining their pockets with petty cash than taking care of business.

Travel advisories from various world embassies should explain the dangers of Thailand's roads (if they are not already doing so) to help the more naive of travellers. The rest of them should just open their eyes, stay alert and not walk around in drunken stupors.

[rbrooks]

RIP to the unfortunate young ladies. Too often I hear about hit and run drivers in Thailand that could have offered some assistance that could assuredly have saved some lives. In most countries it is a crime to not render assistance if you drive by. Hell I even render some assistance if I hit an animal. Are there any good Samaritan laws in Thailand? I know they are scum cowards but come on they can pick up their cell phone and anonymously call 911? The apparent disregard for human life by these people is disgusting. I would be curious to see some stats on how often this occurs in Thailand. I bet you that if this moron hit the ladies with his personal car he would have never turned himself in.

Edited September 16, 2012 by rbrooks

[animatic]

The Hit and Run bit is normal here, mostly because far to often the crowds will beat or kill the drivers of car pedestrian accidents, and the Thais all know this, and never know if they will stop and wait for police, or find themselves in a losing life or death struggle from something done accidentally.

The fact that most turn themselves into police a short time later, shows they understand what to do,

but want to survive doing the right thing.

In this case accident at 4am, and he turns himself in and tells his side at 6:30 am.

The Ferrari Red Bull heir not at all, just a weasel trying to blame his servent.

RIP to the poor lady and quick recovery to her Scots friend.

RIP to the young lady and condolences to her family.

I agree with you but realistically he could have driven himself to the police station right away or driven to a spot where he felt safe then contacted the police.

But props to the cab driver for turning himself in. Really that must be a horrible feeling to know you have taken the life of someone else. Yes he was driving too fast but he admitted everything that happened.

Realistically for us, but the owner of the car would lose face, and perhaps be as vindictive as the crowd.... remember pecking order here takes precedence over logic always.

Not defending the guy from our viewpoint, but only looking at it like things go in Thailand...

so very much not like we do it at home. Some times that has it's great charms,

sometimes it seems utter depraved madness... but the society is unique no question.

[zakk9]

The drawing of the scene shows the accident was on Sathorn Road, a major 4-lane thoroughfare, not in Soi Suan Phlu but near Soi Suan Phlu. Knowing that info, it is much easier to see how he could have been doing 70 kmh and how dangerous it is to cross this road. Indeed there are bridges for pedestrians but the culture here is not to use them.

Agree. This could have happened in any big city. Crossing Sathorn except at pedestrian crossings is foolish, particularly on a rainy night with bad visibility. A tragic accident, but 70 km/h is not an unusually high speed at Sathorn and I doubt that the driver is the only one to blame here.

[transam]

The drawing of the scene shows the accident was on Sathorn Road, a major 4-lane thoroughfare, not in Soi Suan Phlu but near Soi Suan Phlu. Knowing that info, it is much easier to see how he could have been doing 70 kmh and how dangerous it is to cross this road. Indeed there are bridges for pedestrians but the culture here is not to use them.

Agree. This could have happened in any big city. Crossing Sathorn except at pedestrian crossings is foolish, particularly on a rainy night with bad visibility. A tragic accident, but 70 km/h is not an unusually high speed at Sathorn and I doubt that the driver is the only one to blame here.

For sure. Hang em high brigade should back off.

[SGD]

"At least this man had the conscience to put his hands up and admit to the accident after fleeing the scene". Most likely not the case. Taxi was a rental so had to be returned to depot. discussions were had to see if there may have been a way to hide the crime and for money to change hands. owner of taxi said no, so guy had to own up or the owner would give his names and details anyway. took over 2 hours for him to get over his 'shock' and come forward. how long were these young ladies lying in the street before assistance came.

Sorry for the negativity on my part but living here makes you a suspicious person about some thais and their motives whether well intentioned or not.

Condolences to the deceased and her family and a speedy recovery to the other young lady.

The voice of reason speaks.

The first thought is to run, then to lie, then to cover it up. Only if this cannot be done conclusively will someone own up.

The mindset is "screw you jack, I'm all right" and that is inbred from the very top to the very bottom of the population, save a few decent folk.

[belg]

fleeding the scene, so thai.... and free on bail ... should be jailed immediatly and punished severly