Elderly Couple Killed, Girl Injured after Car Crashes in Northern Thailand

An elderly couple were killed when a car driven by their son veered off the road and hit a tree in Northern Thailand on Wednesday. The driver’s 10-year-old daughter was seriously injured.

Phitsanulok police said the accident occurred about 11am on a ring road in tambon Chom Thong.

Killed in the accident were Pon Paopan, 70, who was in the front passenger seat, and his wife Chaweewan, 70, who was sitting in the back with their 10-year-old granddaughter Nathamon. Their 10-year-old granddaughter also suffered severe injuries .

The driver, Champa Paopan, 51, told Phitsanulok police he was taking his parents and daughter from Si Satchanalai district in nearby Sukhothai province in northern Thailand. They planned to visit his younger brother, an inmate at Phitsanulok prison.

As they neared Phitsanulok, he asked his father to hand him a bottle of water. When his father did so, the bottle hit his left elbow, causing his left hand to slip off the steering wheel.

The car veered onto the median strip and crashed into a tree, he said. Police were still investigating the accident and also talking to witnesses at the crash scene.

3 Killed, 2 Critically Injured in Head-on Collision

Meanwhile, three people including an 11-month-old baby are dead after a head-on collision between 2 pickup trucks in northeastern Thailand. The accident happened on Si Sa Ket-Ubon Ratchathani Road on October 2nd.

The two drivers sustained major injuries.

Police were alerted to the accident at 2.45pm on Wednesday on Highway No 226 at Km 7 from Si Saket to Ubon Ratchathani. At the scene they found two Isuzu D-Max pickup trucks crumpled from the head-on collision. Rescue staff had to use the jaws of life to free the passengers.

The drivers of the vehicles – Nathanon Chatkaewphanakul, 40, and Thawatchai Phromma, 47, suffered major injuries and were rushed to hospital. Their condition is critical.

Officials found the body of Muthita Ladadok, 29, Nathanon’s wife, in the front passenger seat of one truck.

Her 11-month-old daughter, who was in her arms, suffered from extensive injuries. The baby was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to her wounds. In the other truck, officials found the body of Jarunee Phromma, 39, Thawatchai’s wife, in the front passenger seat.

Police are gathering evidence to determine the cause of the accident, but a preliminary investigation showed the collision might have been caused by a slippery highway from heavy rains.

Thailand’s drivers and deadly roads

Driving in Thailand can be a hair-raising experience at the best of times, but during the country’s so-called “seven dangerous days” over the New Year holiday motorists take their lives in their hands.

Efforts to crack down on the causes of those crashes — drunk driving, corrupt cops and general weak enforcement of traffic laws — have so far proved ineffective.

The World Health Organization estimated 22,941 people die each year in traffic-related incidents in Thailand, making its roads the deadliest in Southeast Asia.

That’s an average of 62 deaths every day, according to the WHO’s 2018 report on global road safety — just slightly fewer than the average deaths over the New Year period of 66 per day.