Two Walking British Tourists Killed By Crash In Koh Samui

[webfact]

Two walking British tourists killed by crash in Koh Samui

By Coconuts Bangkok


Roads in Koh Samui are some of the most dangerous in Thailand. Photo: Coconuts Bangkok

KOH SAMUI: -- Two British men were reportedly hit and killed by an out of control truck while walking along a road in Koh Samui on March 23.

At 5:30pm on Mar. 23, Samui police and paramedics were called to a two-car pileup at a tea shop on Thaweerat Pakdee Road on the popular vacation island.

Upon their arrival, police found a silver bronze pickup truck and a Toyota Corolla Altis sedan. They said that both drivers abruptly turned their steering wheel to run off the road, which caused the crash. The truck hit the teashop and two British citizens who were walking nearby.

Michael Holmes, 68, and Derek Rodney Gent, 69, reportedly died instantly. They were tourists who were holidaying at a hotel near the accident spot.

Full story: http://www.coconutsbangkok.com/news/two-walking-british-tourists-killed-by-crash-in-koh-samui/


-- Coconuts Bangkok 2013-03-25

[Tropicalevo]

Rest in peace guys.

Condolances to the families.

[KonKorat]

what a disaster,deepest condolnces to the their families

[BrooklynNY]

RIP.

It happened to me the similar crash in Rayong in March last year. I called it near death experience. I could have been killed or have become paralyzed. I could have been killed cheaply in Thailand as a roadside victim.

[transam]

Very sad. RIP fellow countrymen.

[COXYATCITY]

R.I.P. so sad

[laurentbkk]

What a terrible tragedy , my condolences to the family

Another normal day in the kingdom ... I wonder if any government will ever act one day to stop or at least to reduce such accidents.

[andygunther]

Deepest condolnces to the their families.

R.I.P.

[btunes]

Yeah my friend saw this mess right after it happened. Samui is a sweet zone, but the driving here and drivers are outta control. Stresses me big time.Slow down <snip>

Edited March 25, 2013 by SeaVisionBurma
removed inappropriate language

[robsamui]

Yet another num nut Thai driver trying to overtake when there is a line of traffic and no space to go into.

The tactic of barging back into the line and expecting someone to jam on their brakes for you sometimes has fatal results.

My sincere condolences to the families of the unfortunate walkers - they weren't even in the traffic!

R

[btunes]

Maybe to remind us to chill, NOT drink and drive and slow our asses down when we drive.

[sirchai]

Very tragic news. Hope they'll rest in peace. Made me really sad.

[britinthai]

Sadly there will be no lessons learned. For wilcopops comment; this is breaking news and the very point that somebody like myself may think where I sit and enjoy my holiday - thus it may be best to move to another safe off road area to enjoy a cup of tea and a chat with a friend. This is also breaking news for tourist to warn them that they need to be very careful of the many many reckless drivers in Thailand

[BKS22]

Imagine the excitement among you, your family, and friends prior to taking "the holiday of a lifetime"......only to have it end in a terrible disaster like this. Just sad....nothing to say but sad.

R.I.P.

[Chipper]

Nothing shocks me in Thailand when I hear of this kind of thing, but so sad for these two guys and for there families.

But what does anger me is when the media surgest that the roads are to blaim, it is not the roads its the brainless idiots that are doing the driving.

My condolences to there families, R.I.P.

[Judo Chop]

Very sad indeed.

RIP gents.

[laislica]

Yet another num nut Thai driver trying to overtake when there is a line of traffic and no space to go into.

The tactic of barging back into the line and expecting someone to jam on their brakes for you sometimes has fatal results.

My sincere condolences to the families of the unfortunate walkers - they weren't even in the traffic!

R

What a tragedy RIP and condolences to their families.

However, the driver that seemed to cause the accident is in critical condition:

Snip>Kom Petcharat, the sedan driver, told police that he was driving home from the Lamai beach. Chamnan Choowaree, the truck driver, tried to overtake Kom but cut Kom’s car off too early, causing a rear-end collision, Kom said. Losing control of their cars and driving off the road, Kom was unharmed but Chamnan drove into a teashop, leaving him in critical condition. Chamnan was rushed to Bangkok Hospital, Thairath reported.<Snip

[monkeysu]

More needless deaths on the island!

I think we all agree there is no pleasure in driving around Samui
and I personally avoid going anywhere unless I really to, and when I do rive it
is rare that I do not see a near miss.

We all have to drive around compensating for other drivers
and I often wonder just how many accidents you would cause if you did not slam
on your breaks, swerve out of the way and generally use your skills to
compensate for others lack of consideration for safety.

How many times have we all seen vehicles, especially mini
busses going at break neck speed and overtaking in lines of traffic and on
blind bends only to get one car ahead, stop at lights, turn left or right or
sometimes just simply pull over. Risking lives for seemingly no reason.

A few months ago I put an article in the paper asking for us
as a community to come together to do something about this problem. I don’t have
the solution but did think about workshops, or visiting schools with hard
hitting presentations to get kids to listen before they just think it is OK to
drive like lunatics.

We have mostly all lost family and friends to the roads of
Samui and the long term residents it is a frightening number.

Can we not think of something proactive we can do to help
this situation?

I did think about going around with a paint gun with red and
yellow paint shots. Then promoting the fact that if you find a red splodge on
your car or your back when you get home you are lucky you did not kill yourself
or somebody else, if you find a yellow one you get a gold star for being a
careful driver! OK this is not practical but maybe we should get the number
plates of bad drivers and put them on a wall of shame on the island somewhere
so people can see how close they came to ruining lives let alone holidays!

Does anybody have any ideas?

[Emdog]

Hope I don't provoke too much laughter, but has the driver who caused these deaths been charged with reckless driving and manslaughter?

[balo]

Never walk on a road in Thailand with lots of traffic !

Then its better to drive a bike , at least you have a chance to escape !

Edited March 25, 2013 by balo

[kevvy]

to say goodbye to your love ones at the airport who were there to see you off on your holiday , not knowing that was the last time they would see you... how very sad .

sincere condolences to all the families back home .

[Jim walker]

My
sincere condolences to all friends and families concerned, people staying in
Thailand know how dangerous and shocking the driving but many tourists don’t seem
to understand that the car comes first in Thailand and pedestrians and cyclists
don’t even come into the equation at all, Thailand is full of very self-interested egotistical
drivers, and just a little comon courtesy on the roads could avoid so many tragedies like
this one.

[johnsuma]

Yes the idea is simple do not stay there, sent all info you get to newspaper in your country, talk about the more possible, facebook, utube etc. early or late tourist will avoid not only samui but thailand as they are just all the same p...s

Edited March 25, 2013 by johnsuma

[animatic]

I came across this shortly after it happened, I am not at all surprise someone died and the pick up driver is in bad shape. Horrendous scene. And not surprised that the pick up drivers actions caused this, from looking at the carnage. I'm just thankful we didn't see the destroyed humans lying there. Seen it before and it never leaves you quickly.

RIP to the poor British gentlemen just walking along.

[monty1412]

What a terrible tragedy , my condolences to the family

Another normal day in the kingdom ... I wonder if any government will ever act one day to stop or at least to reduce such accidents.

Ditto on the condolences, terrible event

Laurentbkk.. how would this ever happen. When you basically can get a license from a back of a corn flakes packet, drive vehicles which have no safety checks or road worthiness ,on roads which are substandard and in a system where the basic rules are " screw you Jack, Im ok" and then donate minimal tea money rather than serious money and licence points for any slight infringement then how will it ever improve....

Lamenting the lack of change or the possibility to effectively drive change is akin to Canute ordering the waves to stop.

RIP chaps , and condolences to friends and family

[macrobody]

Very sad to hear this. I was once told Samui has 2 deaths a day due to traffic accidents and that might be true. We only hear something when tourists are involved and not even then all the time.

The solution is to learn the Thai better math in school. In Samui the most you have to drive is about 20 km unless you are participating in a triathlon or something doing a few rounds around the island.

20km with a speed of 60km/h will result in 20 minutes driving. An average of 60km/h is probably the max without stress and unnecessary risks and I even have my doubts by this speed in Samui to be doable

20km with a speed of 80km/h will result in 15 minutes driving. An avarage of 80km/h is not possible without taking big risks and drive too fast in areas where you really shouldn't

20km with a speed of 120km/h will result in a few deaths and arriving 10 minutes earlier at the destination. Are 10 minutes worth a life?

[Rooo]

Posts removed. ZERO tolerance in topics such as this.Warnings will be issued.

Please have some respect & be thoughtful before posting.

[carmine]

What a terrible tragedy , my condolences to the family

Another normal day in the kingdom ... I wonder if any government will ever act one day to stop or at least to reduce such accidents.

Ditto on the condolences, terrible event

Laurentbkk.. how would this ever happen. When you basically can get a license from a back of a corn flakes packet, drive vehicles which have no safety checks or road worthiness ,on roads which are substandard and in a system where the basic rules are " screw you Jack, Im ok" and then donate minimal tea money rather than serious money and licence points for any slight infringement then how will it ever improve....

Lamenting the lack of change or the possibility to effectively drive change is akin to Canute ordering the waves to stop.

RIP chaps , and condolences to friends and family

Unfortunately monty is absolutely correct.

RIP and my condolences to the families.

[theajarn]

to say goodbye to your love ones at the airport who were there to see you off on your holiday , not knowing that was the last time they would see you... how very sad .

sincere condolences to all the families back home .

Is what I think of everyday I take the bus in this country.

[Fishface]

Took me a while to write something. Its not breaking news is it ---it happened on the 23rd of march , what happened too embarrassed to publish it. Probably saved up on their pension for a trip to Thailand..... So sad. Resting in peace is unfortunately all they can do, its a shame they cant haunt the bastard.