British Benz driver sought after fatal Chiang Mai smash

[little mary sunshine]

Another scumbag

[Arkady]

lets hope he sees this story so he knows where his stolen car is.

And his passport.

[jacko45k]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

Well from what I read only a passport was found.

No indication in this story that they guy was actually driving, there is a possibility it was his wife or a family member, or even a car thief.

Making presumptions should be left to the police!

[dabhand]

The penalties for fleeing the scene don't seem very severe in Thailand and you are only deemed drunk, if you refuse a breath test, not if they can't find you.

I had never condoned fleeing the scene of an accident before but one thing that happened to me gave cause for reflection about this. I was once driving on a country road in farming district near Sattahip. In front of me was an old man on a motor bike who suddenly swerves in front of me to turn right into a farm track without looking. Braking as hard as I could, I still could not avoid knocking him off his bike. In the rear view mirror he was lying motionless in the middle of the road, Thinking that he was dead or badly injured and that I could perhaps drive him to hospital, knowing that villagers can't afford Thai ambulances, I immediately went back. Within seconds I was surrounded by a commotion of hostile villagers demanding large amounts of cash. After a few minutes the man was able to stand up and seemed just stunned and bruised but not badly hurt. Several aggressive young men were demanding tens of thousands of baht for medical bills and for repair of the bike but the victim didn't seem to have any injuries that needed medical attention and the only damage to the bike seemed to be a slight graze to the plastic casing of the wing mirror. It took me about half an hour to negotiate them down to 3,000 baht. It ended up just being a scenario where I had fallen into the hands of villagers as a farang windfall and to pay a ransom to get away unharmed. By the end of it I was more shaken up than the old man.

Sadly I concluded I would have been a lot better off fleeing the scene in a country where there is no rule of law.

I have posted this previously on TV.

Worked on a project in Kelantan, Malaysia and was one of the start-up team. We were visited by the local RTD (Road Transport Department) and their advice if being involved in an accident was to head to the nearest police station if at all possible. Also not to stop if witnessing any accident, but having no direct involvement. This was based on the distinct possibility of violence being meted out by local villagers to any and all non locals, even those not linked to the actual accident.

In the same location I had an experience of a close encounter with a motorcyclist. He had been at a roadside stall and, without looking, headed straight for me from the right-hand side. He saw me late and, in taking avoiding action, fell off his bike in the middle of the road. I saw this in my side mirror and, luckily, knew of a police station just a few hundred meters up the road. I headed there, explained the situation to a policeman. He did a quick check of my car and found no obvious damage. He then headed to where the guy had fallen off his bike. He came back and explained there was no injury to the rider, except a few minor scrapes. Then told me I was free to go.

If I had stopped when I saw the guy fall off his bike I am sure there would have been a high possibility that the incident would have escalated into a more serious situation for me. Luckily I drove that same stretch of road every day so I knew of the close proximity of the police station. That also meant I had to clear the issue rather than be concerned about someone spotting the car at a later date or coming to my place of work.

So, I have no problem about 'fleeing the scene' provided it converts into a 'head for the nearest police station' at the earliest opportunity.

[Thechook]

The Merc must have been travelling at quite a speed,to rear end and flip the pick up,

2 people are dead RIP,so lets hope they catch him soon and throw the full extent of

the law at him.

regards worgeordie

Did he cause the collision?

[jeffreybangkok]

I bet when they find him, he will not be allowed to refuse breath test, or refuse to go to a police station.

He will get banged up straight away, no bail nothing.

He did wrong so should be punished.

Now we will see the 2 tier Thai system working.

The point is this Brit is wrong for fleeing. Not about the police.

[dageurreotype]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

Not surprised to see you the first to post when a Briton is involved to exercise that chip on your shoulder.

Oh yes.. I hate Brits.. i forgot.

No my chip is that it seems that when a Thai does something everyone is falling over themselves condemning it and generalizing but when its a foreigner the responses are totally different. There is just a lot of Thai bashing here so its good to hold up a mirror once in a while.

Should I have said farang instead of Brit.. would that have made it better for you ? I would have come down just as hard on a Dutch guy and would have called it a Dutch thing just to hold up a mirror here. Guess that is lost on you.

What's the ratio of Thais fleeing scenes to foreigners' d'ya think?

[mikosan]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

It says in the body of the report that the Benz driver rear ended the pick-up. That means the Benz driver is at fault.

[mikosan]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

No indication as far as I can see that this Brit was driving...

I keep at all times a copy of my Passport with up-to-date 90 day report copy, both in the Pickup and in the car, the Pickup at this moment has just left Champon going to Ranong, and I am on my PC 50 odd km north west of BKK..

You make a very good point. Everyone seems to be assuming the passport holder was driving, let's wait and see, before we hang him out to be hung, drawn and quartered.

[laolover88]

So what has happened here?

Am I to believe BIB can't find a foreign man who lost/abandoned his car and his passport, if that is the case?. What have the police and the Isuzu driver to say?

[alanrchase]

So what has happened here?

Am I to believe BIB can't find a foreign man who lost/abandoned his car and his passport, if that is the case?. What have the police and the Isuzu driver to say?

It would appear the Isuzu driver is one of the dead women.

[luke000]

You make a very good point. Everyone seems to be assuming the passport holder was driving,

No everyone doesnt seem to be assuming that he was driving numerous people have said that just because his passport was in the car, that doesnt mean that he was driving the car .

You didnt read the whole thread, did you .

[wprime]

People need to stop leaving their passports at the scene of crimes.

[mamborobert]

Now in UK press with photos of Chinese cash......over to the TV detectives. Seems to have left in a hurry...First Aid Kit, credit card, phone etc etc

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3588503/British-man-sought-Thailand-two-women-killed-Mercedes-smashes-truck-driver-flees-scene.html

Edited May 13, 2016 by mamborobert

[dick dasterdly]

The penalties for fleeing the scene don't seem very severe in Thailand and you are only deemed drunk, if you refuse a breath test, not if they can't find you.

I had never condoned fleeing the scene of an accident before but one thing that happened to me gave cause for reflection about this. I was once driving on a country road in farming district near Sattahip. In front of me was an old man on a motor bike who suddenly swerves in front of me to turn right into a farm track without looking. Braking as hard as I could, I still could not avoid knocking him off his bike. In the rear view mirror he was lying motionless in the middle of the road, Thinking that he was dead or badly injured and that I could perhaps drive him to hospital, knowing that villagers can't afford Thai ambulances, I immediately went back. Within seconds I was surrounded by a commotion of hostile villagers demanding large amounts of cash. After a few minutes the man was able to stand up and seemed just stunned and bruised but not badly hurt. Several aggressive young men were demanding tens of thousands of baht for medical bills and for repair of the bike but the victim didn't seem to have any injuries that needed medical attention and the only damage to the bike seemed to be a slight graze to the plastic casing of the wing mirror. It took me about half an hour to negotiate them down to 3,000 baht. It ended up just being a scenario where I had fallen into the hands of villagers as a farang windfall and to pay a ransom to get away unharmed. By the end of it I was more shaken up than the old man.

Sadly I concluded I would have been a lot better off fleeing the scene in a country where there is no rule of law.

I have posted this previously on TV.

Worked on a project in Kelantan, Malaysia and was one of the start-up team. We were visited by the local RTD (Road Transport Department) and their advice if being involved in an accident was to head to the nearest police station if at all possible. Also not to stop if witnessing any accident, but having no direct involvement. This was based on the distinct possibility of violence being meted out by local villagers to any and all non locals, even those not linked to the actual accident.

In the same location I had an experience of a close encounter with a motorcyclist. He had been at a roadside stall and, without looking, headed straight for me from the right-hand side. He saw me late and, in taking avoiding action, fell off his bike in the middle of the road. I saw this in my side mirror and, luckily, knew of a police station just a few hundred meters up the road. I headed there, explained the situation to a policeman. He did a quick check of my car and found no obvious damage. He then headed to where the guy had fallen off his bike. He came back and explained there was no injury to the rider, except a few minor scrapes. Then told me I was free to go.

If I had stopped when I saw the guy fall off his bike I am sure there would have been a high possibility that the incident would have escalated into a more serious situation for me. Luckily I drove that same stretch of road every day so I knew of the close proximity of the police station. That also meant I had to clear the issue rather than be concerned about someone spotting the car at a later date or coming to my place of work.

So, I have no problem about 'fleeing the scene' provided it converts into a 'head for the nearest police station' at the earliest opportunity.

Off topic, and I apologise.

A few months after coming here my ex-husband and I were involved in a road accident at a 3 way intersection. The intersection was close to the down section of a hill, so extreme caution was required. Our small, hired Suzuki jeep type thing was turned over onto its side and pushed a long way down the road. It was quite an isolated area, so it was suprising how many Thais rushed over to help us get out of the overturned jeep. This isn't a 'snide' comment, it was just genuinely suprising.

The other car didn't flee, and the police arrived. I was only worried about one of my dogs who had fled out of the back seat window that had been 'pushed out' in the crash - so wasn't paying attention to anything else.

The Krabi police were great, and allowed us to spend hours walking up and down the various roads looking for our lost dog. It was only when it got v dark they insisted we had to go to the police station - and that it was too dangerous for me to stay alone (I wasn't driving) looking for my dog.

When we finally arrived at the police station and spoke to the police, my ex-husband was adamant that the person saying he was the driver of the other car, wasn't the driver - and that it was another member of the 'group' waiting at the station. The police were sympathetic, but basically said 'Do you want to go through a Court case, or would it be easier to let the insurance companies deal with it?'. Hubby didn't want to 'let it go', but I was frantic to get out searching for our lost dog, so he gave in.

Another time (he told me about this) my ex-husband hit a Thai scooter driver riding on the wrong side of the road. The police arrived and hubby said scooter driver is obviously pissed/stoned - please look. They did, and ex-hubby had no problems.

Two different stories, but both show that (in these cases) the RTP were not immediately looking to blame the foreigner.

[gandalf12]

As for the Mercedes driver I don't care what his nationality is, lock him up for a minimum of 30 years. He is the first Brit I have heard of running from the scene of an accident. If he did that back home he would be heavily sentenced as he should be

As we are in Thailand, what happens back home is quite irrelevant ,or should Foreigners live by the laws of their home country, rather than Thai laws ?

Anyone who causes the death of people which from what has been reported he did by his driving should get a very long term in jail. I don't care what nationality they are people have lost their lives because someone drove in a dangerous manner. British, American, Thai, Chinese it doesn't bring the people back to life so same long term jail. If you think they should walk then you need to get your mind back in place

[ukrules]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

It says in the body of the report that the Benz driver rear ended the pick-up. That means the Benz driver is at fault.

Far from it, people will occasionally change lane or turn into a road without looking and drive into the path and more importantly the stopping / braking distance of another vehicle which is moving faster.

If you 'steal' a moving vehicles 'braking distance' whilst driving slower there will be a crash and it will be the fault of the person who changed lane. If you're driving in a straight line it's very hard to cause an accident or even be blamed for one. Often there will be someone else who's making a turn onto a road or changing lane involved.

Here's a scenario :

Someone's driving in a straight line down a 60 MPH road doing 60 MPH, a half witted moron joins the main fast road from a small side road without looking at all and drives directly in front of the car or truck moving at 60 MPH - the guy joining the road will be destroyed but it's certainly not fault of the person driving along the road at 60 MPH merely because they were behind.

[dick dasterdly]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

It says in the body of the report that the Benz driver rear ended the pick-up. That means the Benz driver is at fault.

Far from it, people will occasionally change lane or turn into a road without looking and drive into the path and more importantly the stopping / braking distance of another vehicle which is moving faster.

If you 'steal' a moving vehicles 'braking distance' whilst driving slower there will be a crash and it will be the fault of the person who changed lane. If you're driving in a straight line it's very hard to cause an accident or even be blamed for one. Often there will be someone else who's making a turn onto a road or changing lane involved.

Here's a scenario :

Someone's driving in a straight line down a 60 MPH road doing 60 MPH, a half witted moron joins the main fast road from a small side road without looking at all and drives directly in front of the car or truck moving at 60 MPH - the guy joining the road will be destroyed but it's certainly not fault of the person driving along the road at 60 MPH merely because they were behind.

Many years ago, I worked for the claims dept. in an insurance company and its suprising how many people think that if a driver runs into the back of another car he is automatically responsible.

95% of the time this is true, but not always.

Not that this has anything to do with this driver - as its likely that he was responsible.

[SiSePuede419]

"I think his scenario is best rated fictional"

Agreed.

The part about an alcoholic quiting drinking is pretty unbelievable, 555

[Bangkokazy]

mmm Do you live in Thailand is the right fleeing the scene of a crime.

You hide and then call the police and negotiate how much I need to pay to forget the matter

[Thailand]

With car reg number, passport, credit cards and a laptop in the Merc the BIB should be well on top of this by now.

[Puwa]

Maybe there are other sources, but witnesses in the cm108 report don't mention that the driver seen fleeing on foot was a foreigner.

[worgeordie]

This could turn out to be another case that you hear nothing more of,it happens

far too often here,could be due to the fact they are no investigative journalists

in Thailand,how many times have you said to yourself,I wonder what happened

about that case,be it murder,or corruption.

regards worgeordie

[kjhbigv]

Shouldn't the thread title read "Austrian Benz driver sought" as being reported in The Mail that the passenger was the Brit and the driver was Austrian.

I wonder how they can even know that?

[Thailand]

Latest update from the DM

"Police in Thailand are hunting the friend of a British man whose passport was found inside the wreckage of a Mercedes Benz after the vehicle ploughed into another car, killing two women.

It's believed the friend, an Austrian national, was the driver of the vehicle and the Brit, named locally as Simon Wellings, had left his possessions inside the car.

The crash - caused when the Mercedes allegedly ran into the back of a small pick-up van - claimed the lives of two Thai women, in their 50s, who were found lying on the road."

[petedk]

as a Brit he should have know better not to flee the scene of an accident, both a crime in the States and i suspect in the UK as well. your responsibility is to summoned aid. because Thais do this or that is a bad argument. two wrongs do not make a right. as expats and or tourist "guest" in this country we have an obligation to set an example and to do the right thing, it makes us all look bad. regardless of fault he should turn himself in. it will be just a matter of time before the police find him anyway. his name and passport number and photo is registered and so is his residence. possible DUI, wreck less driving and manslaughter. no excuse.

So you would like to see this headline in the newspaper: "Farang beaten to death by angry mob."?

This is not the USA.

This is not the UK.

This is Thailand.

All those people who say "In USA you do this...", "In the UK you do that.." remember THIS IS THAILAND.!

Thai laws, customs and corruption apply.

In UK and USA and most other countries around the world , you are obliged by law to help the injured.

Once again! This is Thailand!

I don't know if you are obliged to help others by law, but I do know that if you hit someone you will get a vigilante mob beat you to death.

I think this would still happen if you hit someone's dog and killed it.

[phuketandsee]

Just watch the video and deleted my post that was based on sloppy reporting by the DM (how could that be?)

Edited May 13, 2016 by phuketandsee

[ALFREDO]

The penalties for fleeing the scene don't seem very severe in Thailand and you are only deemed drunk, if you refuse a breath test, not if they can't find you.

I had never condoned fleeing the scene of an accident before but one thing that happened to me gave cause for reflection about this. I was once driving on a country road in farming district near Sattahip. In front of me was an old man on a motor bike who suddenly swerves in front of me to turn right into a farm track without looking. Braking as hard as I could, I still could not avoid knocking him off his bike. In the rear view mirror he was lying motionless in the middle of the road, Thinking that he was dead or badly injured and that I could perhaps drive him to hospital, knowing that villagers can't afford Thai ambulances, I immediately went back. Within seconds I was surrounded by a commotion of hostile villagers demanding large amounts of cash. After a few minutes the man was able to stand up and seemed just stunned and bruised but not badly hurt. Several aggressive young men were demanding tens of thousands of baht for medical bills and for repair of the bike but the victim didn't seem to have any injuries that needed medical attention and the only damage to the bike seemed to be a slight graze to the plastic casing of the wing mirror. It took me about half an hour to negotiate them down to 3,000 baht. It ended up just being a scenario where I had fallen into the hands of villagers as a farang windfall and to pay a ransom to get away unharmed. By the end of it I was more shaken up than the old man.

Sadly I concluded I would have been a lot better off fleeing the scene in a country where there is no rule of law.

I had a similar incident, only on a Thai "Highway" in the North East.

A Motorbike, changing a 2 lane high way road, from far left, the emergency lane to right, to reach a U-turn? so prompt no chance for me,

he got me on the side and slid back scratching the whole car on the left side, then falling off behind my car.

I saw him rolling same a fast running shot rabbit and getting to his feet with the last roll.

I thought for a moment, that he was more or less ok and that this was a high way with cars every minute again and accelerated.

Edited May 13, 2016 by ALFREDO

[ALFREDO]

Friends...it's easy to sit behind a keyboard and be judge, jury and executioner; but I can tell you from personal experience that you will not know how you will respond to this kind of situation until it happens to you first hand.

Back in the early '80's I lived full time in Manila, Philippines, and I leased a brand new Mercedes with driver on a one year contract. It was Christmas eve and I had given my driver a few days off, so I drove myself down to the red light district where I drank till the wee hours of the morning, picked up two hookers and headed back to my condo. I exited the freeway at a high rate of speed and t-boned a small Ford that had run a stop sign. I can't tell you how many times that little car turned in circles and all I could see was smoke everywhere. My two ladies flew up and hit the windshield, but that Mercedes held together like a Sherman tank. I can tell you that my first instinct was self-preservation because I was immediately overcome by FUD...fear, uncertainty and doubt.

I grabbed my beers, my ID's and went running down a small street as fast as I could to escape the carnage, jumped in a cab and headed straight to another of my favorite bars. There I picked up another hooker and a returned to my condo by taxi. The next morning when I awoke I was still drunk, so I called the rental company and reported that my Mercedes has been stolen from the parking garage during the night and I had no idea where it was. At the time I thought I was really being shrewd. Later on that day I sobered up, came to my senses and called them back to report the truth, headed straight to the police station to admit my guilt and take full responsibility for my actions.

As it turned out nobody was hurt and there were two bank executives in the Ford who were also drunk and admitted to running the stop sign, so they refused to press charges against me. I paid the police a few hundred Pesos to make it all go away, the Mercedes was repaired by the company's insurance and all turned out for the good. That marked the beginning of the end for me of years of being alcoholic, and to this day I haven't had a drink in 26 years.

Point being...no matter how moral you think you are, until it happens to you, don't even think you'll have a clue what to do under those circumstances when there's drugs or alcohol involved.

What happened in the 'lost' ten years between the 'accident' and you stopping drinking?

2016 - 26 =1990

Were the two hookers ok?

Good to see you had your priorities right...grab the beers and run and grab another girl.

What part of Oz are you from?

I think his scenario is best rated fictional. And I actually found the fairies at the bottom of the garden.

Insurance paid out despite all parties being drunk and the Op running off, and then lying to and later retracting his initial version of events to the rental company. Yeah sure . And pigs do fly. I have driven in the Phillipines, and am familiar with the road rules and yes the coppers are corrupt but they do not need the permission of two alleged drunk drivers to charge the Op.

I'm ashamed to say it's all true 100% Si Thea01,so I guess you've just seen your first flying pig. In the PHILIPPINES it's all about who you know,and I was very well connected.Sorry to disappoint you by telling the truth.

-Si thea01- plausible

-fittobethaied- did, possibly the part that he was drunk not report to the Police and Car-Renting-Insurance Company.

Anyway good possibility that the Ford's insurance company as that driver, was that one,

who had been responsible for the accident, paid the Mercedes - if the Ford was insured.

[ALFREDO]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

Perhaps a case of "When in Rome....."

My uncle always used your quote:

"When in Rome do as the Romans"

Now he's doing a life sentence, with no parol, in Italy, for executing 1,200 Christians.

Hope this guy, if guilty, gets the same.

Also think that the San Sai to Doi Saket road is full of vehicles going way past the speed limit.

-Mankondang-

Interesting - Who is your uncle? His name?