Driver allegedly drunk in fatal car crash in Pattaya

One man died and another was seriously injured yesterday in an alleged drunk-driving incident in the Sri Racha district, between Chon Buri and Pattaya.

Driver Somsak Phuchanha was killed instantly after his car crashed into a road barrier causing an electricity pole to collapse onto his vehicle while driving home from a music concert yesterday morning in the Sri Racha district.

The 31 year old factory worker was found dead near an electricity pole on the road while the passenger, Chaiwat Niamhom, was conscious but with a seriously injured right leg. He was pulled from the wreckage and rushed to the nearest hospital.

The 23 year old passenger later revealed the pair had traveled from Sriracha to a Mor Lam concert in Chon Buri the night before. Chaiwat confessed they had both drank a lot of alcohol and were drunk, so decided to stay the night and return to Sriracha in the morning. Chaiwat said he slept the whole journey only to be woken from his slumber when the car crashed and found half of his body stuck inside the wreckage.

Sri Racha police and rescue volunteers arrived at the scene near a motorway of the Bang Phra subdistrict around 8.30am on Sunday after being notified of the accident. They discovered the wreckage of a black sedan broken in half, with a Bangkok license plate, beside a collapsed electricity pole.

A pickup truck was discovered about 200 meters away with a broken windscreen after it was hit by a tire from the black sedan. The truck driver was unharmed.

Police said they would continue to investigate the crash while stating the body of the dead man would be transferred to Laem Chabang Hospital for an autopsy.

SOURCE: Pattaya News