BMW driver pays 5.5 million baht after killing mother and 2 children in Chumphon
Court grants bail with EM tracking bracelet and oversea travel ban
A Thai BMW driver faces four years and seven months in prison after a fatal accident that killed a mother and her two children in the southern province of Chumphon last year. She was later granted temporary release.
The crash occurred on a highway in Chumphon at around 7.40pm on November 27 last year, when a BMW collided with a motorcycle. The rider, 52 year old Yenjit, and her two children, Boonyanuch and Kittamate, were all killed.
The BMW driver, identified as Jirunthanin, reportedly got out of her vehicle but did not assist the victims. Instead, she searched for her pet cat before disappearing from the scene.
Investigations later revealed that Jirunthanin had posted a video of herself driving the BMW shortly before the accident. The footage showed her travelling at more than 200 kilometres per hour.
She later surrendered to Mueang Chumphon Police Station, claiming that the car did not belong to her but to a friend. She said she had borrowed it and was on her way home to take a shower after attending a funeral for a relative of that friend.
Police conducted an alcohol test, which showed 28 milligrammes per cent of alcohol in her system, below the legal limit, so she was not considered intoxicated at the time.
Yenjit’s husband, Prakrit, later sought justice, saying that Jirunthanin appeared to be avoiding compensation for his family’s loss. She reportedly failed to attend meetings arranged to negotiate compensation.
Prakrit demanded 24 million baht in damages and urged relevant authorities to take action over her repeated absences.
Yesterday, November 5, the Chumphon Provincial Court summoned both parties to hear the verdict. The court sentenced Jirunthanin to nine years and two months in prison, reduced to four years and seven months due to her confession.
The BMW was seized, and the court ordered Jirunthanin to compensate Prakrit with 5.5 million baht. She paid 300,000 baht yesterday and promised to pay another 200,000 baht by the end of this month. The remaining 5 million baht is to be paid in instalments over eight years.
According to ThaiRath, the court later granted her temporary release on 150,000 baht bail, on the condition that she wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and is prohibited from leaving the country.
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