There was another horrific accident in Pathum Thani on Friday that killed a 17-year old Laotian girl. She was actually sliced in half by a speeding Porsche with her upper torso winding up crashing through the windshield and landing in the front passenger seat.
Pathum Thani Porsche Accident
Apologies for being so graphic, but there is no other way. To top it off, the driver continued for about 10 kilometers and then abandoned the Porsche and caught a taxi.
Reporting on this story over the weekend in the English speaking online news has been absolutely terrible. The Nation stated that the lower half of the girl’s body was found in a “dish” instead of ditch. Other sources said the car was stolen (not).
It was reported on Sunday that they police had identified the owner of the vehicle but he claimed he was not the driver and that he and the driver did not want to go to the police station until they had attended a festival. I love the law over here in Thailand. They must have needed some time to get stories straight and round up cash to pay off the family.
There has been a lot of chatter in the Thai forums over this and perhaps the owner of the Porsche got wind of some of the ill feelings and changed his and his son’s mind as they decided to go and visit the Thai Police.
Turns out that the driver is a 19-year old and the son of the owner of the Porsche. He has actually admitted that he did it and states that he was going 120 kph – which I seriously doubt. I have been in Bangkok taxis that are doing 150 kph at the entrance to Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Was probably closer to 200. Not sure if Thai forensics will be able to determine the speed since the guy drove off 10 km away. But, he had to be really moving in order to cut the poor girl in half.
Porsche Accident Victim's Mother
The hit-and-run driver, Peerapol Thaksinthaweesap, 19, is a first-year Rangsit University student, and admitted to speeding – the 120 kph. He did state that he was sorry and didn’t intend to hit her. He claims that she ran out from behind a bus and he didn’t see her in time to stop.
Typical.
Porshe Accident Driver
Blame the victim and then try to deflect and show that there are others involved (the buses) so that the individual cannot be blamed 100%.
I have yet to read anything that mentions skid marks or an attempt to stop at the scene of the accident. I have only read that he stopped 10 kilometers away to catch a cab, thus leaving the scene of an accident.
It is early in the investigation, and no mention of charges of yet. Most likely will be speeding, reckless driving and leaving the scene (though I am not sure if this is actually a criminal offense in Thailand). I doubt we will see a charge of manslaughter. Heaven forbid that a rich kid get charged with a crime that could result in prison time.
BUT – it does not matter. Daddy is rich and will pay the girl’s mom and all will be fine in Elite-land, Bangkok. The kid has already been released to his family who said they would take responsibility for the death of the girl (translated this means the family will negotiate a settlement ensuring that there are no charges and junior walks away scott free – minus his allowance for a couple weeks).
Further investigation will probably claim that the car has something that malfunctioned or the girl was listening to an Ipod or sending text messages. Anything to deflect the blame from the rich kid.
The other sad thing that I have been seeing on forums is that the compensation will be minimal since she is only a girl from Laos and not Thai. Forum posters have already started bringing up the issues of whether she is in Thailand legally, does she have a work permit, etc – items that have nothing to do with her tragic death.
I haven’t read anything that indicates whether he is legally licensed, unlike Orachorn “Praewa” Thephasadin na Ayudhya, the 17-year old that allegedly caused a van to crash killing 9 people.
Also read that the mother of the victim is entitled to “up to 200,000″ Thai baht compensation but not sure if this is from insurance or Thai government. Then the family will also have to tack on some baht to save Junior.
Will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
This is the precursor to Thai New Year, Songkran – about 2 weeks away – where they usually expect approximately 400 road deaths over a seven day period. This year may be more with fewer folks going to Japan, free toll roads from Bangkok to Pattaya, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand beefing up local tourism during Songkran.
Sad state of affairs and nothing will be done. There will be no change to the minimum age for drivers, speeding, driving without seat belts or motorcycle helmets will continue to go unpunished (unless the Thai Police need a little extra cash), and idiots will continue to drink and drive on the roads. Van and bus drivers will continue to drive at breakneck speed with drivers that are totally unqualified.
Yes, This is Thailand
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