AUSTRALIAN tour jeep crash victim Aimee Malonzo was recovering in a Phuket hospital today as police continued inquiries into the crash that killed her husband Michael.

The driver of the runaway vehicle that plunged off a steep road, sideswiping a young elephant as it passed, may face a manslaughter charge or a count of reckless driving.

The Sydney couple, both aged 26, were one week into their honeymoon on Phuket when the Siam Safari tour jeep sped off-road and overturned coming down the Big Buddha hill on Friday about 11am.

Mrs Malonzo was among eight Australian tourists injured in the jeep's plunge, and was one of four who were admitted to Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Phuket City.

The crash took place on the lower part of the Big Buddha hill road, a winding track that leads up to the 45 metre statue atop 380-metre Nakkerd Hill.

The party of Australians, from various resorts on the island, had been elephant riding before the driver failed to take a sharp left-hand bend while making the descent.

A spokesperson for Siam Safari said today that the company always maintained its vehicles in top condition and submitted them to twice-yearly Transport Department checks.

The company was also fully insured. ''If we did not set and follow the highest possible standards, we would not have agents willing to recommend us and offer our tours,'' the spokesperson said.

Mrs Malonzo, a dance teacher, was visited by holiday friends today and discussed how soon she could get back on her feet.

She has a broken pelvis. This evening her parents arrive on a flight from Australia and she expects to be returning home as soon as doctors on Phuket say she is well enough to travel.

Before departing for Phuket, Mrs Malomzo posted a thank you note on her Facebook page.''Aimee Malonzo would like to thank all my family and friends for attending our wedding, you made it a wonderful, memorable day that I will never forget . . . x x,''' she wrote.

The pair had known each other for seven years.

Husband Michael is the second Australian to die on Phuket's roads so far this year.

Holidaying Sydney lawyer Roger Stephen Quinn, 55, was killed when a taxi taking him from Patong to Phuket airport collided with a minivan that swerved to the wrong side of the road on January 3.