Drunk Thai man crashes car, killing police and 4 year old boy
A 75 year old drunk man crashed his vehicle into a crowd outside a school in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday, December 23, killing a traffic police officer and a four year old schoolboy and injuring more than nine others.
The fatal accident occurred at about 4.15pm yesterday outside Ban Don Kwang School on Phet Ma Tu Kla Road in Nakhon Ratchasima province. During a time when the school had finished for the day, many children, their parents, and vendors were present at the scene.
CCTV footage showed the silver-bronze Honda CRV crashing into the school wall near a bus stop. The front bumper of the vehicle was completely damaged. Several motorcycles and cars parked outside the school were also damaged in the crash.
The drunk driver was identified as 75 year old Thanate, a retired official from the Nong Khai Provincial Agricultural Extension Office. He was found to have a blood alcohol level of 197 milligrammes. He sustained only minor injuries in the incident.
Tragically, a traffic police officer, Police Lieutenant Wimut Taensupho from Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima Police Station, who was directing traffic at the scene, was directly hit by the vehicle. Rescuers performed CPR but were unable to save his life.
Ten other victims were injured in the incident, including four students, four guardians, and one food vendor. One of the students, a four year old, sustained severe injuries and later died in hospital today.
“I’m not a murderer”
Thanate told police officers and rescuers at the scene that he was travelling back home to Buriram province after attending a party at the 2nd Army Area. Despite confessing to drinking alcohol at the party, Thanate avoided admitting to any wrongdoing.
Thai news programme Hone Krasae reported that Thanate shouted while being transferred to the hospital…
“Hey, everyone calm down. I’m not a murderer. I just returned from a party at the 2nd Army Area. I drank beer, but not much.”
Nevertheless, the abundance of alcohol in his system is far beyond the legal limit of 50 milligrammes. No official legal charges or punishments against the suspect have been reported yet.
According to a related report, Thanate may be charged under Section 291 of the Criminal Law: reckless behaviour leading to death. The penalty is imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 200,000 baht.
