A Thai village headman denied driving while drunk after his van crashed into a grilled squid motorcycle stall in Nonthaburi, killing a 31 year old Thai woman and seriously injuring her husband on Saturday, September 19.
The victim, 31 year old Pimphitcha Panphu, died in the crash, while her 31 year old husband, Sithathorn Toncharoen, was seriously injured.
The couple were reportedly operating their grilled squid stall on their sidecar motorcycle outside a petrol station on Lat Pla Duk Road in Sai Noi district when the incident occurred at about 1am.
Sithathorn remains under close medical care after suffering a broken spine and a cracked skull. His friend told Channel 3 that Sithathorn initially asked about his wife’s condition at the scene. He later reportedly lost his memory of the crash.
A witness told the media that the suspect, later identified as 39 year old village headman Peerapong, walked away from the scene after the crash.
The witness followed Peerapong and filmed him. In the video, the witness asked why he was leaving and whether he had been drinking. Peerapong reportedly denied it and eventually returned to the scene to wait for police.
The witness claimed that he could smell alcohol on Peerapong while speaking to him. However, it remained unclear whether police conducted an alcohol test at the scene. Peerapong reportedly left the area shortly after police arrived.
Sai Noi Police Station later summoned Peerapong to give a statement yesterday, September 21. He was reportedly questioned for about three hours.
According to police, Peerapong denied driving while drunk but admitted that he had been travelling at high speed.
He told police that heavy rain had affected his vision while driving. He said a truck suddenly turned across his path towards a petrol station, forcing him to brake and swerve. Peerapong said he then lost control of the van and crashed into the motorcycle stall.
The village headman apologised to the victim’s family and promised to provide compensation.
Police charged Peerapong with reckless driving causing death, reckless driving causing injury and damaging property. He was released pending further proceedings while police wait for a medical certificate concerning the victims.
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