Father and Son from UK Killed in Head-on-Crash with Trailer Truck in Surat Thani

 

SURAT THANI – A Briton and his 81 year-old father died and his 78 year-old mother was seriously hurt when their pickup truck crashed head-on with a trailer truck on a curve in Phanom district of this southern province on Friday night.

 

Pol Capt Kanthapol Srisuksai, deputy investigation chief at the Phanom police station told the Bangkok Post that police and rescue workers found the three British nationals trapped inside a Chevrolet pickup truck.

 

The 44-year-old driver and his 82-year-old father were sitting in the front seat and the driver’s 78-year-old mother was sitting in the cab.

 

Full story: http://www.chiangraitimes.com/father-and-son-from-uk-killed-in-head-on-crash-with-trailer-truck-in-surat-thani.html

 

 

-- © Copyright Chiang Rai Times 2017-04-22

Truly tragic news from the roads. This really is heartbreaking. A family trip that was probably happiness and joy a few moments earlier, turned deadly in an instant.

RIP to the two guys and I feel incredibly sad for the poor mother, who has lost both her son and soul partner. I am torn between wishing her a speedy recovery and wondering if she will really want to.

Very sad, but a timely reminder of the dangers of Thailand.

Trailer trucks again most likely travelling at the ridiciously low speed they go at, don,t know what speed the deceased were travelling at but very sad.  RIP.

 

 

opened my mouth to soon before i read the whole story, driver lost control

and went head on into the truck travelling in the opposite direction.

Erm, the British driver lost control according to the report.

Very sad. And sad to use the tragedy for a spot of Thai bashing.

19 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Very sad. And sad to use the tragedy for a spot of Thai bashing.

Here, here. Couldn't agree more. Tragic accident. Could have happened anywhere on the planet. 

Hope the mother/wife can cope with the lost of two family members. 

RIP. 

Sincerely hope this isn't going to turn into a Thai/Thailand bashing thread. 

A troll post has been removed as well as the appropriate reply to the troll post. 

8 hours ago, oldgent said:

opened my mouth to soon before i read the whole story, driver lost control

and went head on into the truck travelling in the opposite direction.

ah and on what evidence do you come to that conclusion? you mean it could never have been the trailer driver cutting the corner? sleeping? drinking?  or you just believe the Police's speedy version? 

Had my parents, similarly aged, on that road and can only empathise and console. What should have been a celebration of different lives,  is a tragedy. RIP. 

8 hours ago, binjalin said:

ah and on what evidence do you come to that conclusion? you mean it could never have been the trailer driver cutting the corner? sleeping? drinking?  or you just believe the Police's speedy version? 

I read what was reported. your suggestions are related to Thai Bashing, think we have enough

bashers on here

Very very sad. The roads here can be simply awful. Two weeks ago me and the missus came back from Ratchaburi to Bangkok. Some roads we were travelling through had no lights, nor did they even have cat's eyes on the road. Was just so dark on a major road. One point we went through some green lights but didn't even realise there were traffic lights there 'til we went past. 

 

Have to be so careful.

The dear old lady loses both husband and son. My condolences.

Don't believe the Suratthani police when they say 2 Burmese lads committed murder, but 100% behind them when the say a dead man (who can't defend himself) lost control of his vehicle based on testimony one can assume comes from the driver of the other vehicle

Accident evidence is easy. Look at braking marks on the road, the position of the vehicles. We have a photo of a truck going of the road on the left hand side of the road facing the correct direction. When a truck this size go around a corner on the wrong side and hit a vehicle most of the time it will go off the road on the right hand side of the road (due to momentum) or jack knife (due to sudden braking in a corner). The mothers evidence will be forth coming and the insurance company have a stake in this. But as we know foreigners drive like angels, only Thai's cause accidents.

9 hours ago, binjalin said:

ah and on what evidence do you come to that conclusion? you mean it could never have been the trailer driver cutting the corner? sleeping? drinking?  or you just believe the Police's speedy version? 

Police won't conclude that unless they have reason to believe it, e.g. skid marks on the road.

Its unfortunate how quickly and easily lives can be lost.  Everyone please take care of yourself out there on the roads.  

18 hours ago, oldgent said:

Trailer trucks again most likely travelling at the ridiciously low speed they go at,

don,t know what speed the deceased were travelling at but very sad.

RIP.

 

 

If you lose control in a curve, you drive to fast. You always got people who love to blame the Thais though.

Speculation is rife regarding the cause of the accident. Let the Police do their proper job, looking at skid/brake marks on road, interview witnesses etc., to ascertain probable cause.

Then bash all you like.

In the meantime only condolences are in order.

Troll style remark removed.

Don't drive at night...

Don't leave your reason behind in your home country...

"This could be heaven or this could be hell" from the Eagles' Hotel California...

Police won't conclude that unless they have reason to believe it, e.g. skid marks on the road.

Normal police won't. Thai police, however, have a reputation of jumping to conclusions and then backpeddling. Hell, they normally ascertain exact cause of death at the crime scene well before the coroners do their thing.

19 hours ago, oldgent said:

I read what was reported. your suggestions are related to Thai Bashing, think we have enough

bashers on here

Thai bashing,maybe. Or it could be from experiance,knowing how the police sometimes come to a conclusion.

18 hours ago, wprime said:

Police won't conclude that unless they have reason to believe it, e.g. skid marks on the road.

That's maybe the case with most police forces,unfortunately not allways so with the Thai police. 

Allways remember a very senior Thai police investigator, about 15yrs ago stating that in the event of one vehicle smashing into the back of another, blame lies 50/50. 

19 hours ago, rkidlad said:

Very very sad. The roads here can be simply awful. Two weeks ago me and the missus came back from Ratchaburi to Bangkok. Some roads we were travelling through had no lights, nor did they even have cat's eyes on the road. Was just so dark on a major road. One point we went through some green lights but didn't even realise there were traffic lights there 'til we went past. 

 

Have to be so careful.

I agree. I drove back from Surat Thani to Chumphon one time after some shopping. We left at about 5 and it became dark. I couldn't believe there were no cats eyes. Scary trip and last time I ever leave anywhere late.

On 4/22/2017 at 9:23 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

Very sad. And sad to use the tragedy for a spot of Thai bashing.

There are so many tragedies, that it becomes sickeningly numbing. 

If it were not true here that "the bigger the vehicle dominates the road", and "the world runs on luck", and the fact that trucks are often overloaded, not maintained, often speed, often drive in the wrong lane, often drive sleep deprived...I guess occasionally assumptions are sometimes warranted?