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Carnage on Phuket as one is killed and six injured in last night's collision

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One Dead, Six Injured as Phuket Tourist Minivan and Family Sedan Collide on Main Road

By Chutima Sidasathian

Friday, November 6, 2015

PHUKET: One man died and six other people were injured in a high-speed crash involving a minivan carrying tourists and a family sedan on Phuket's main road last night.

The minivan, heading north in Thepkasattri Road not far from Thalang Police Station, crossed the median strip with rain falling and collided with the white Honda about 11.20pm, flipping the minivan.

The driver of the sedan. Rachasak Chantep, was pronounced dead on arrival at Thalang Hospital. His family were also believed to be in the vehicle.

The driver of the minivan and his two tourist passengers, Zhongren Jiang and Shengnan Gu, were also initially taken to Thalang Hospital, along with three passengers from the sedan, including a boy.

Police from Thalang Police Station will question the people involved as soon as their conditions improve.

Earlier in the day on a notorious curve in the airport road, a red sedan crashed into the restraining strip after encountering spilled fuel.

Authorities covered the area in sand and hoped forecast overnight rain would clear the road surface. The driver was not injured.

It's believed a truck with a loose fuel cap probably caused the spillage in taking the tight curve.

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Was it 'speeding'? Was it raining?

Posted by Kurt on November 6, 2015 15:02

Editor Comment:

The article says it was raining. High speed is likely to have been a factor.

[quote]
Earlier in the day on a notorious curve in the airport road, a red sedan crashed into the restraining strip after encountering spilled fuel.
[/quote]

This curve is what I call '100 stupid drivers curve', because of the number of single-vehicle accidents that have occurred at this spot, most of which seem to be due to the inability of the vehicle driver to drive safely round a slow curve in the road.

As for this accident that you report, I drove pass this incident about 10 minutes after it occurred, with the red car stuck in the newly-erected safety barrier.

And no, there was no oil or diesel on the road. The road was dry and clear.

Posted by Simon Luttrell on November 6, 2015 15:58

Editor Comment:

Hmm . . . then what were they tipping sand onto in the attached photo album, Simon? Autumn sunshine?

Oil or no oil, a driver responsible for the lives of his passengers should adjust his speed accordingly to suit the conditions AND anticipate the occasional, unexpected circumstances.

Anyone living on Phuket can see that an alarming number of minivan drivers drive around at excessive speeds even with full passenger load.

Those entrusted with public transport duties should be held to higher standards and stricter scrutiny and sanctions.

A GPS tracking device and speed limiter should be mandatory and the GPS data made publicly accessible.

You would find a lot of vans exceeding speeds of 150 kp/h.

That itself is reckless endangerment even if nothing happens.

Posted by Herbert on November 6, 2015 17:05

Welcome to Amazing (not Thailand) Phuket! The road carnage is beyond acceptable limits, no matter the excuses!

Posted by Logic on November 6, 2015 23:09

i have to agree with Herbert, these minivan drivers can't all be from Phuket, the driving standards are proving to be totally arrogant and dangerous, they must be reined in by local police, sorry I forgot I lived in Thailand.

Posted by G. on November 6, 2015 23:55

Friday May 17, 2024