Motorcycle Accident Claims Foreigner

KALIM: A motorcycle accident on Phrabaramee Road north of Patong claimed the life of a 35-year-old South African man and seriously injured his female passenger on Wednesday afternoon. Kathu district police said Daniel Gensen, an employee of Singapore-based Sun Cruises, lost control of his 1,200 cc rented motorcycle and crashed shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday while traveling southbound on the two-lane coastal road. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His riding companion, 29-year-old Carolyn Teo Hui Ting, also a Sun Cruises employee, was rushed to Kathu Hospital by Gazette distribution manager Saiwarun Soijampa, who happened upon the accident. The woman was later transferred by ambulance to Phuket International Hospital where she is receiving treatment for neck and shoulder injuries. She is reported to be in satisfactory condition. Police said neither victim was wearing a helmet, as required by law, at the time of the accident. Gensen died of head injuries. The body of the deceased was taken to the morgue at Wachira General Hospital in Phuket Town. Authorities have notified the South African Embassy in Bangkok of the incident.