Death sparks “dangerous road’ warning

KATA: Police have warned about the dangers of the road outside the Marine Cottage resort after a 22-year-old motorcyclist, Supit Kaminkaew, died there on Sunday afternoon, after she was run over by a bus. Supit is the fifth person to die on that stretch of road in the past few months. Pol Capt Chana Sootthimat of Chalong Police Station said Supit was riding her motorcycle from Kata toward Karon. At the top of the hill in front of Marina Cottage, she collided with John Hiro Bour, 17, a French-Japanese teenager from Bangkok, who was trying to cross the road. After the impact, Supit lost control of her bike and crashed to the ground in the opposite lane. A Phuket Town-Kata bus ran over her as she lay there unconscious. Supit was taken to Phuket International Hospital where she later died. Mr Bour suffered only minor injuries and has since left Phuket. “Mr Bour told me that Supit was coming down the hill at a very high speed,” Capt Chana said. The bus driver, Weerawat Sunguanporn, 23, surrendered to police immediately after the accident, and has since been released on bail. Pol Capt Sanae Panmee of Chalong Police Station said that five people have died in motorbike accidents on the little hill in recent months. “The last one was on February 5 at exactly the same spot. The bike rider banged his head on the ground and died at the scene. Everyone should be careful on this dangerous road,” Capt Sanae said. In January this year, there were 1,086 road accidents in Phuket; 73 of them involving cars, and 975 involving motorcycles. There were 18 road deaths during the month, all involving people on motorcycles.