Two die in bypass junction smash

PHUKET CITY: Two people have died after a high-speed collision between a motorbike and a pickup truck at the Tesco-Lotus intersection on the bypass road this morning.

Patthama Jiewluan, a high-school student at Phuket Wittayalai School in Phuket City, died at the scene.

Jirapan Chanchaivej, the driver of the pickup, died later at hospital.

Lt Theeradet Jiraksa of Phuket City Police Station, who is leading the investigation into the accident, told the Gazette that the collision, at about 7 am, was between Patthama, who was riding her motorcycle from Kathu to Phuket City, and a pickup truck driven by Jirapan with his friend Jirasak Samutthikarn as passenger.

The men were heading southbound through the junction on their way from Koh Kaew to Chalong.

“I received a call from Vachira Phuket Hospital this afternoon informing me that K. Jirapan, the driver of the pickup, has died,” Lt Theeradet said.

“K. Jirasak is still in a coma,” he added.

Lt Theeradet said that police have yet to press charges as they are still investigating the accident. “We need to check the CCTV camera recording of the scene at that time before we can draw any conclusions,” he said.

“We also need to obtain a statement from K. Jirasak,” he added.

However, he added, “It looks as if one of the drivers failed to stop for a red light. It seems both of them might have been driving through the intersection at high speed.

“I will have to wait for K. Jirasak to regain consciousness before I can proceed with the investigation.” he added.