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

[robblok]

That's kinda my point - 300 meters is hardly a convenient distance and given the weather conditions these 2 ladies may have chosen to take a chance. I've seen it happen at that location every day. Clearly it's not a good idea, but by the same token doesn't mean it's okay to just bump them off.

Of course it does not mean its ok to bump them off but it makes them part of the blame. That is why i think this is an accident and if the guy drove 70km h i don't think he is to blame. It is not an unreasonable speed on the 3rd lane of a four lane road at a time that there is not much traffic.

The only thing that does stick is that he fleed the scene an act that i find repulsive, but is common here in Thailand. If we only knew he turned himself in because he knew he would be caught or because he felt remorse and was shocked by what he had done.

I have said before,and i will say again.... Your another one that has taken as gospel the speed being "70"! This speed has only been given by a man that left 2 girls lying in the road for dead!

If in his report he had quoted i was only doing 40kph would you still take this as the gospel truth,and continue to say oh well 40 is not fast?

I wish you all would stop quoting "His" speed that "He" said he was doing...

I would't mind you being the police officer who arrests me if you can believe the words of this man,he gave himself in when he had to and says what speed he was doing .

Yes it his speed, but we do we have to question everything ? with the same token you could say the girls were drunk and running over the road. (not saying this is the case). We don't know and all we have to go on are the facts as stated by the report. If we start imagining other facts like his tires must be bald his brakes must be bad ect ect. we can go on forever.

Let the police sort it out if he was doing 70 its an ok speed and with a flyover this close to the scene the victims were certainly not blameless. Its mad to cross 4 lanes of traffic then a divider (looked at streetviews seems you cannot cross there) and then 4 lanes again.

Like i said before if i ever get involved in an accident like this i hope the hang em high brigade is not around. One of my biggest worries is a motorcycle or a pedestrian doing stuff to save time while risking their life (going in against the traffic flow or crossing where its too dangerous to cross and puting me in a situation where an accident like this can occur)

Its not all black and white and everyone has blame in this case, i for one think the leaving of the scene is excusable but im not so sure the rest is not a tragic accident. If they find out he was speeding yes catch him but for now there is no proof he did. 70 at the 3rd lane of a 4 lane road in low traffic is not fast.

[Jim walker]

Everyone on this forum seems to imply that the ladies in question were drunk because it is 4.30am in the morning I have many friends who are tea total and come out with me when I am drinking and sometimes over the 4.30am drunken threshold, and I have also been out after 4.30am in the morning and been sober boring amazing but true.

[kohphangan]

That's kinda my point - 300 meters is hardly a convenient distance and given the weather conditions these 2 ladies may have chosen to take a chance. I've seen it happen at that location every day. Clearly it's not a good idea, but by the same token doesn't mean it's okay to just bump them off.

Of course it does not mean its ok to bump them off but it makes them part of the blame. That is why i think this is an accident and if the guy drove 70km h i don't think he is to blame. It is not an unreasonable speed on the 3rd lane of a four lane road at a time that there is not much traffic.

The only thing that does stick is that he fleed the scene an act that i find repulsive, but is common here in Thailand. If we only knew he turned himself in because he knew he would be caught or because he felt remorse and was shocked by what he had done.

I have said before,and i will say again.... Your another one that has taken as gospel the speed being "70"! This speed has only been given by a man that left 2 girls lying in the road for dead!

If in his report he had quoted i was only doing 40kph would you still take this as the gospel truth,and continue to say oh well 40 is not fast?

I wish you all would stop quoting "His" speed that "He" said he was doing...

I would't mind you being the police officer who arrests me if you can believe the words of this man,he gave himself in when he had to and says what speed he was doing .

Yes it his speed, but we do we have to question everything ? with the same token you could say the girls were drunk and running over the road. (not saying this is the case). We don't know and all we have to go on are the facts as stated by the report. If we start imagining other facts like his tires must be bald his brakes must be bad ect ect. we can go on forever.

Let the police sort it out if he was doing 70 its an ok speed and with a flyover this close to the scene the victims were certainly not blameless. Its mad to cross 4 lanes of traffic then a divider (looked at streetviews seems you cannot cross there) and then 4 lanes again.

Like i said before if i ever get involved in an accident like this i hope the hang em high brigade is not around. One of my biggest worries is a motorcycle or a pedestrian doing stuff to save time while risking their life (going in against the traffic flow or crossing where its too dangerous to cross and puting me in a situation where an accident like this can occur)

Its not all black and white and everyone has blame in this case, i for one think the leaving of the scene is excusable but im not so sure the rest is not a tragic accident. If they find out he was speeding yes catch him but for now there is no proof he did. 70 at the 3rd lane of a 4 lane road in low traffic is not fast.

Plenty of questions,plenty of answers,but my ears are shut from statements from a man who drove away from carnage.Accident or not he should of stopped!

I am in the dark as to the location of the event,i have only had the pleasure (Yeah right) of driving in Bangkok on 3 occasions,i am an island boy,i am sure i don't have to tell you it's just as crazy down here. I take your word for what is a good speed or not but i would much prefer hearing the speed from post #114.

My Acknowledgement goes to rsm008 and his girlfriend,for his words and having to start a post with such a sad one. I hope "rsm008" and girlfriend that you also get over this tragic event as quick as you both can.

[bangkok101]

he fled the scene because thats what Thai's do...trying to evade responsibility and to answer for their misdeeds!

Edited September 17, 2012 by bangkok101

[SIamYank]

<deleted> He was later released on bail of Bt100,000...

Google the following "uk hit and run on bail"

You will see that 100% of the time hit and run drivers in the U.K. are granted bail.

Would you prefer the driver was immediately executed instead?

Noo but come on 100k is a joke ..

Why is 100,000 a joke? That is probably 8-12 months income for him?!? (55 weeks income if your working at the proposed 300 Baht per day min. wage)

It's 100,000 Baht which I am sure he didn't have available and had to borrow. Likely borrowing from some people that will not treat him very nicely if the money isn't returned. And who wont treat his family very nicely if he does a runner.

I know many of us on this forum can afford to drop 100,000 in a week at the beach, but we should also tune ourselves in to what the average Thai working class person is making. 100,000 is a hell of a lot of money to a working class Thai!

[robblok]

See i made a mistake in my post i mean leaving the scene of the accident is unexcuseable, and he should be prosecuted for that.

I stated in all my posts it was unexcusable and for some reason the spell checker changed it in excusable for my last post. Sorry.

Edited September 17, 2012 by robblok

[PoPanda]

According to Thai news (I read Thai), it said that there was a witness who called the police to report the accident. This witness also gave the police the description (color, license plate number) of the taxi. In the meantime, the taxi driver pulled over somewhere and called his wife to ask her what he should do. She adviced him to turn himself in, so he did. Even if he didn't turn himself in, he would have been caught anyway given that there was a witness who wrote down his license plate number.

I heard the same. I also heard that the witness was in fact the passenger who got out after the taxi hit the two girls and then waited until the police and emergency services arrived so that he or she could give a statement.

[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.

Name once in the last 10 yrs where that happened?

Been here over 7 years seen it myself once.

Particularly happens to drivers of big vehicles like trucks and busses.

[masaomi]

Firstly, my condolences and sympathy to the families of the two women. I sincerely hope Ms Hughes makes a good recovery.

Soi Suan Phlu is an average soi with 2 lane traffic and doing 70 -80km/h (45-50 mph) in the rain, IMHO, is irresponsible. He stopped 50 metres away, and his passenger "jumped out and took another cab".

I asked myself "What would I have done"? and I honestly think I would have attempted to render some assistance. Once again, the driver fled the scene.

Perhaps he had been drinking Krating Daeng. At least he turned himself in later, better than the weasel with the Ferrari a while back.

We shall now see how the justice system works once again.

I wonder if he is even the actual driver! He could be a scapegoat for the right price because the coward dare not face the consequences! Also, I seriously doubt if the law would prosecute him to the max! I feel so sorry for the british lady and her friend. It should never have happened. I know the taxi drivers here, 90% of them are dirty rotten scoundrels and totally reckless drivers!

[yannic]

RIP to the deceased and a speedy recovery to the injured lady.

Both young ladies were teachers at an international school in Sathorn. The injured scottish lady is infact the main teacher of the son of my colleague.

What happened, we don't know, we only know it is tradegic. No one knows if alcohol was involved and anything in this direction is pure speculation.

I can only conclude to better be extremly careful crossing streets here in Bangkok as traffic is fast with motorbikes and cars.

[lizardtongue]

Yet another sad waste of a young life, condolences to the family and a speedy recovery to the friend.

I have like many of TV members used Bangkok taxi's many times and have never felt totally safe, they are either on the phone, looking around not appearing to concentrate. Obviously there are good as well as bad taxi drivers but the bad far outweigh the good.

I hope the low life selfish scum that 'got another taxi' comes forward although I very much doubt it unless there is a cash incentive.

Even if the deceased and her friend were at fault it does not excuse the driver failing to wait at the scene, if he had half a brain he would realize that decamping only heightens the speculation that he was in some way at fault.

If the story read, words to the effect, "British woman killed and friend injured by taxi, driver and passenger waited at scene for police and emergency services to attend" it would probably on get a few lines in the world press, but as soon as 'hit and run' is mentioned it creates a totally different mental scenario and the world press will jump on it.

[brewsterbudgen]

Yet another sad waste of a young life, condolences to the family and a speedy recovery to the friend.

I have like many of TV members used Bangkok taxi's many times and have never felt totally safe, they are either on the phone, looking around not appearing to concentrate. Obviously there are good as well as bad taxi drivers but the bad far outweigh the good.

I hope the low life selfish scum that 'got another taxi' comes forward although I very much doubt it unless there is a cash incentive.

Even if the deceased and her friend were at fault it does not excuse the driver failing to wait at the scene, if he had half a brain he would realize that decamping only heightens the speculation that he was in some way at fault.

If the story read, words to the effect, "British woman killed and friend injured by taxi, driver and passenger waited at scene for police and emergency services to attend" it would probably on get a few lines in the world press, but as soon as 'hit and run' is mentioned it creates a totally different mental scenario and the world press will jump on it.

According to post #218 the passenger was the witness that called the emergency services. But then it's much easier to band about terms like "selfish scum" even without possession of the facts.

[FarangTalk]

I have like many of TV members used Bangkok taxi's many times and have never felt totally safe, they are either on the phone, looking around not appearing to concentrate. Obviously there are good as well as bad taxi drivers but the bad far outweigh the good.

You can now report drivers that refuse to take you to your destination (it is against the law to refuse a fare based on the destination).

I reported 2 drivers on Saturday for refusing to take my gf and myself when it was pouring rain on Friday evening.

The more people that report, the less it will happen.

www.thaitrafficpolice.com

[noob7]

70km/h is not extreme in Bangkok.

But ob most of the roads to quick, right? And looking at the car picture, I see some doubts, to 'only 70 to 80 km/h!

It was a four lane road.. people in BKK go faster then 70-80 there its not extreme also not too quick.

People should also not cross 4 lane roads.. they had to cross 4 lanes again to get to the other side.

Do you think its smart to cross 8 lanes ?

It's not up to the people, to decide, it's to quick, or not! What is the legal speed there?

And crossing 8 lanes, that nee a while. If he wouldn't be driving so fast, he might have seen them, before he hit 'em.

Again the question: Night-blind? Not so unusual, here, on the roads. If you ever had a taxi/minibusdriver, being night blind, you understand, what that means. Not only to others, outside your vehicle!

[noob7]

<deleted> He was later released on bail of Bt100,000...

Google the following "uk hit and run on bail"

You will see that 100% of the time hit and run drivers in the U.K. are granted bail.

Would you prefer the driver was immediately executed instead?

Noo but come on 100k is a joke ..

Why is 100,000 a joke? That is probably 8-12 months income for him?!? (55 weeks income if your working at the proposed 300 Baht per day min. wage)

It's 100,000 Baht which I am sure he didn't have available and had to borrow. Likely borrowing from some people that will not treat him very nicely if the money isn't returned. And who wont treat his family very nicely if he does a runner.

I know many of us on this forum can afford to drop 100,000 in a week at the beach, but we should also tune ourselves in to what the average Thai working class person is making. 100,000 is a hell of a lot of money to a working class Thai!

You're right. Usually the 100k isn't a joke. The 500k for the Ferrari hit and run policemen is!

[farang000999]

The taxi deserves a fair trial. It is certainly possible these girls crossing at the street at 4am were drinking and at fault. RIP.

Did they cross the road at a good spot?

Edited September 17, 2012 by farang000999

[cup-O-coffee]

4 AM! Hmmm...

Well, to be fair, we do not know if the women were crossing properly, or jay-walking and taking a risk. We do not know if they were under the influence at that time and their decision making abilities impaired. I have seen foreign pedestrians in full daylight to damned stupid things in full traffic.

I guess I would be scared shitless if I were in this man's shoes, and at least for now I give him credit for truning himself in. He was wrong to run, but truthfully, I can understand why he might if the above unknown answers above fit the bill; sloppy drunk people walking out in traffic in an unmarked crossing and with light traffic, being responsible to see the oncoming headlights with a clear line of sight. A pedestrians vision is not hindered in this case. A wet windshield with glare is.. IF that were the case.

[lizardtongue]

Assuming the general selfishness arround here, the 100k bail, and the 2 hours later "turning in".

70km/h + rain = 100% Guilty (and the driver did know that hopefully)

All this is already a big step in the right direction.

70k is only 43 mph, not knowing how bad the rain was, hards to say,

but 43mph doesn't sound excessive normally.

At 4am don't imagine the ladies were 100% sobre and aware.

Not saying blame the vicim here, just saying hang em high doesn't always ring true.

2 hours later is not too long a wait for here, just long enough not to be killed by an enraged mob.

We can't think in terms of our culture since it certainly isn't.

Guilty, most likely.Showing contrition, most likely, more lenient sentence because of this, most likely too.

But he will never forget he's killed a young lady like this.

Do you honestly believe that he will be concerned let alone remember the victim in a day or two?

All he will be interested in is how much is it going to cost to get out of the allegation Thai’s really do not value life in the same way the West does , the picture in Thairath goes someway to supporting this!

Would you like to see a picture of a loved one/someone close to you lying motionless on a wet road, at least the corpse is covered normally the face is just pixel out.

The driver doesn’t look too concerned in the photograph of him sitting at the desk?

[Mosha]

The walls in the middle of the road, what was between them? I think someone mentioned a khlong. If they worked in the area they must have known,Crossing there was an act of stupidity if sober. Reminds me of those 2 crazy Scandinavian women walking across a busy UK motorway. I feel sorry for the driver, and to me in the photo he looks to be shocked rather than under the influence.

[FarangTalk]

There's no khlong in the middle of Sathorn Road.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

[robblok]

There's no khlong in the middle of Sathorn Road.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

Just look at google streetview... there is something in between not sure what it is Twais send the link of streetview. You can also see the pedestrian bridge on it not far from the accident that they did not use.

[philw]

Assuming the general selfishness arround here, the 100k bail, and the 2 hours later "turning in".

70km/h + rain = 100% Guilty (and the driver did know that hopefully)

All this is already a big step in the right direction.

70k is only 43 mph, not knowing how bad the rain was, hards to say,

but 43mph doesn't sound excessive normally.

At 4am don't imagine the ladies were 100% sobre and aware.

Not saying blame the vicim here, just saying hang em high doesn't always ring true.

2 hours later is not too long a wait for here, just long enough not to be killed by an enraged mob.

We can't think in terms of our culture since it certainly isn't.

Guilty, most likely.Showing contrition, most likely, more lenient sentence because of this, most likely too.

But he will never forget he's killed a young lady like this.

Do you honestly believe that he will be concerned let alone remember the victim in a day or two?

All he will be interested in is how much is it going to cost to get out of the allegation Thai’s really do not value life in the same way the West does , the picture in Thairath goes someway to supporting this!

Would you like to see a picture of a loved one/someone close to you lying motionless on a wet road, at least the corpse is covered normally the face is just pixel out.

The driver doesn’t look too concerned in the photograph of him sitting at the desk?

He will live with this accident the rest of his life.

I am sorry for you that you cannot attribute normal human emotions to Thai people.

[transam]

Assuming the general selfishness arround here, the 100k bail, and the 2 hours later "turning in".

70km/h + rain = 100% Guilty (and the driver did know that hopefully)

All this is already a big step in the right direction.

70k is only 43 mph, not knowing how bad the rain was, hards to say,

but 43mph doesn't sound excessive normally.

At 4am don't imagine the ladies were 100% sobre and aware.

Not saying blame the vicim here, just saying hang em high doesn't always ring true.

2 hours later is not too long a wait for here, just long enough not to be killed by an enraged mob.

We can't think in terms of our culture since it certainly isn't.

Guilty, most likely.Showing contrition, most likely, more lenient sentence because of this, most likely too.

But he will never forget he's killed a young lady like this.

Do you honestly believe that he will be concerned let alone remember the victim in a day or two?

All he will be interested in is how much is it going to cost to get out of the allegation Thai’s really do not value life in the same way the West does , the picture in Thairath goes someway to supporting this!

Would you like to see a picture of a loved one/someone close to you lying motionless on a wet road, at least the corpse is covered normally the face is just pixel out.

The driver doesn’t look too concerned in the photograph of him sitting at the desk?

So you want to hang the guy cos the ''sorted'' photo of him tells all in your opinion. ?

[Mosha]

There's no khlong in the middle of Sathorn Road.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

Thanks, just asking

[rgs2001uk]

4 AM! Hmmm...

Well, to be fair, we do not know if the women were crossing properly, or jay-walking and taking a risk. We do not know if they were under the influence at that time and their decision making abilities impaired. I have seen foreign pedestrians in full daylight to damned stupid things in full traffic.

We do know they were jaywalking and not crossing properly. A quick look at the sketch of the place of impact on the road establishes that point.

There looks to be a wall/raised bed in street view, Not a clever place to cross

There is a barrier in the middle for that very reason, to stop people crossing.

[Baxer]

There's no khlong in the middle of Sathorn Road.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

There is water for sure, maybe not a khlong, but makes it impossible to cross at most places.(photos from google earth)

[lovelaos]

Very sad indeed & the passenger who jumped out and didn't stick around shame on them.

u think they would have stuck around ....though .a few years back in bangkok ..i remember a farang in a taxi involved in a fatal accident was put under a lot of pressure .....the police actually said to him ..it was his fault because if he hadnt hired the taxi the accident would not have happened ..rip to the poor girl and speedy recovery to the other lass .... its amazing how many people come here and unfortunately ......never go back

Friend of a friend of a friend or someone you actually know?

This old yarn has been doing the rounds in S E Asia for donkeys years, it's usually heard in bars by 'expats' after they have been here for a year or so and think themselves experts.

Edited September 17, 2012 by lovelaos

[farang000999]

wow. that is where they were crossing. i would never dare cross that road in the middle of the day. if you want to cross, you MUST use the overpass. very sad.