Drunk bus driver crashes Thai school bus injuring 33 students

[webfact]

Drunk bus driver crashes school bus injuring 33 students

LOEI: -- 33 students and a teacher from Woraraj Wittaya School in Wang Sapung district of the northeastern province of Loei were injured when the bus they were travelling in crashed and overturned on Monday morning.

Officers from Nong Ya Plong police station investigating the accident found that tests carried out at the scene revealed that the driver of the bus, Mr Jeerawut Phromkampa, 32, a school employee, was more than 3 times over the legal drink drive limit.

Tests confirmed that Mr Jeerawut’s blood/alcohol level was 0.16%, when the legal limit to drive in Thailand is 0.05%.

Incredibly all of the students and the teacher only suffered minor injuries having been sent to the nearby Wangsapung hospital, reported Pol Capt Praijit Wiengsamut, the officer investigating the case.

Pol Capt Praijit also confirmed that police had charged the driver of the bus with drink driving and causing injury to others.


-- 2014-01-27

[winstonc]

it will never stop...

[Costas2008]

500 Baht fine again??????

[Artisi]

It's ok, he will be sober by tomorrow so can get back to school bus driving.

[ginjag]

it will never stop...

Driver a school employee ???

So the school never knew he was a heavy drinker ?? was he vetted before he was employed ??? to get the job you normally have connections with a school member of staff Did he ??? so who actually set him on.

Hope he had a D/License.

[Valentine]

The total irresponsibility in vetting & ensuring drivers are fit to drive is nothing short of diabolical.

[rogerdee123]

who would bet against it being discovered he is a relative of a school official

[soi41]

What the f*** are wrong with those people??

You are responsible for the lives and safety for a group of young people, and drives with 3 times over the limit in your blood??

Hope the youths recover quickly!!

[andygunther]

500 Baht fine again??????

What do you expect ? This is Thailand !!

[sam sen]

too drunk to do a runner.

[arthurwait]

At least it's actually admitted they were drunk instead of the usual he ran away because he was scared.

[96tehtarp]

The legal blood alcohol level for school bus drivers could be 0%. That would be more suitable.

[DocN]

I am almost happy, we are reading something "normal" in this whole mess...

...almost...

Hope everyone injured recovers soon...

[evadgib]

[Kilgore Trout]

Where are all the apologists now? Why is there no one on here saying that this is their country and if they want to let this kind of thing happen and only punish the driver with a slap on the wrist then that is their business as westerners have not right to make any negative comments?

[ChrisY1]

This is where the attention should be focused....on these ar***les driving.......

These pricks cause more fatalities than any protest!

[ginjag]

This is where the attention should be focused....on these ar***les driving.......

These pricks cause more fatalities than any protest!

The drunk driving charge wont be politically motivated. and the driver did not have the money to go to the Olympics... but he wants doing in technicolour.

[JeremyBowskill]

Words fail me. Wonder if he had a sly drink b4 work or if it was left over in the system from Sunday...........

[Just1Voice]

Nothing will happen for 2 reasons.

1 - He "connected" to someone in the school, who is "connected" to someone higher up, ad nasuem.

2 - He'll use the excuse he was sick and only taking some of Chalerm's "ear medicine", and had no idea it had alcohol in it.

[JoeThePoster]

He was so drunk no one noticed the brake failure.

[Noi657]

If my daughter was travelling on that bus I can guarantee the bus driver would have a permanent hangover!

[Jim walker]

Brother in law or uncle will be high ranking police officer so it will be ok he can get back to his driving job once he sobers up No problem case solved and job done no need for a fine just a quiet word in his ear the children are not important in Thailand only money is important to Thais.

[bangkokheat]

oh i didnt know thailand had .05 limit, hmmm, what a waste of time that is here

[Yunla]

Fifteen to twenty years in the slammer sounds about right. He knowingly risked the lives of over thirty people. Its only a miracle that they didn't all die, since it overturned it could have rolled down a slope or hit a petrol-tanker or something. Long prison sentences for dangerous driving, will sober some of these maniacs up. The Law needs to take the gloves off, and show no mercy - just like these drunks show their passengers.

[jackr]

it will never stop...

Driver a school employee ???

So the school never knew he was a heavy drinker ?? was he vetted before he was employed ???

What's the difference? It's not like anyone would have said anything had they known--which someone probably did--or it may have caused him to lose face to pick him up on it. Perhaps the biggest downer of life in Thailand, not pulling people into line.

Thank f no-one's dead!

[jackr]

[NoshowJones]

If my daughter was travelling on that bus I can guarantee the bus driver would have a permanent hangover!

Yes, and then your daughter will be visiting you in prison. If your daughter was on that bus, it would be great to lock you and the drunk in a room together for a few minutes, most Thais can't handle fighting one to one.

[inzman]

Reminds me of the 2 bus drivers in Phuket last week that tested positive for yaba. They kept there jobs since it was their first time.

Now this poor excuse for a human being will keep his.

[ginjag]

Words fail me. Wonder if he had a sly drink b4 work or if it was left over in the system from Sunday...........

I don't know the guy, It cannot be an isolated incident, my guess if your pis#ed in the daytime half would have been from the pre-day, hence the phrase, permanently piss#d, was he at Mo Lam the night before ??

2 main things wrong here--Administration---vehicle not fit to be taking kids to school, nutter driving.

[falangadang]

Bus driver calamities are one thing but whenever it involves a busload of kiddies my blood starts to boil.

Forget the 500 baht fine,... string him up by the nuts!

At the end of the day the police and the government are to blame!