Storms contribute to fatal traffic accident

PHUKET TOWN: Two people were killed in a weather-related traffic accident on the bypass road Saturday night. Pol Maj Pitsanoo Poolwong of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the deaths occurred when a Toyota pick-up truck was involved in a collision with a bus coming in the opposite direction around midnight. Maj Pitsanoo said that the accident occurred when the pick-up truck, driven by 39-year-old Sathaporn Tongsamrit, was trying to go around a tree branch that had fallen due to heavy winds. At the same time, the bus, owned by Travel Group 87 Co, was attempting to pass the car in front of it. The two people killed in the accident, Aree Pettonglang, 41, and her 11-year-old son Akapan, were riding in the pick-up’s bed when the two vehicles collided. K. Aree was thrown from the back of the truck and died after her head struck the ground. Akapan, who was asleep at the time, was thrown from the pick-up and then run over by the bus, which dragged his body until it hit an electricity pole and stopped. The boy’s father, 43-year-old Kraisak Pettonglang, was sitting in the truck’s passenger seat. He was also thrown from the pick-up, but luckily sustained only minor injuries to his head. Sathaporn, who was wearing a seatbelt, was slightly injured by broken glass. “There were about 10 people in the bus but nobody was injured. The driver of the bus, 33-year-old Surin Sawangwon, disappeared after the accident, but reported himself to the police the following day,” said Maj Pisanoo. Both Sathaporn and Surin were charged with reckless driving and are in police custody.