Tourist crushed to death on pedestrian crossing in Thailand

A Chinese tourist was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a pedestrian crossing in Samut Prakan, central Thailand.

The accident occurred on the evening of Friday, March 1, in Bang Bo district of Samut Prakan province, located southeast of Bangkok.

The speeding pickup truck killed the traveler who had just arrived in Thailand.

Police Lieutenant Pongmetha Charot, deputy chief of investigation at Bang Bo police station, explained that the accident was reported around 10 p.m. He said:

"The fatal accident occurred in front of a hotel near Soi Navamin 4 on Bang Na Garden Road."

Police, medical personnel and rescuers who rushed to the scene found a 67-year-old Chinese man lying on the road, unconscious and seriously injured.

Medical personnel performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him, but were unable to save him.

Medics try to save the injured Chinese tourist after he was hit by a pickup truck Friday night in Samut Prakan's Bang Bo district. Photo: FM91 Trafficpro

His name was withheld pending notification of his family.

A tourist police patrol was in the area when the incident occurred and noted the license plate number of the black Toyota pickup.

The vehicle, equipped with a roof-mounted siren, fled the scene at high speed.

A subsequent check revealed that the license plate number was wrong.

Security video taken outside the hotel shows the moment the tourist, who was walking on the crosswalk, was hit by the speeding van.

The impact propelled his body nearly 100 meters.

Other Chinese tourists and hotel security guards rushed to help as the vehicle fled the scene.

Kittithara Arjor, a tour guide accompanying the Chinese tour group, said they had just arrived in Thailand earlier in the day.

The incident occurred as the victim, who had left a nearby 7-Eleven store, was crossing the road to return to his hotel room, the guide said.

Police Lieutenant Pongmethas said the victim's body was sent to Ramathibodhi Chakri Naruebodindra Hospital in Samut Prakan for post-mortem examination.

Police are also coordinating with the Chinese embassy and a Chinese tourist assistance center in Thailand.

Later Saturday morning, authorities found the pickup truck parked at Prayot Karnyotha Co, a construction company in Bang Poo commune in Samut Prakan.

The front of the vehicle was damaged and its siren light had been removed.

The vehicle's registration indicated that it belonged to a woman, whose name has not been released.

When police took her to Bang Bo station for questioning, she told them she had sold it to a Cambodian man who worked at the company several months ago.

However, the name transfer had not yet been completed.

Forensic officers collected fingerprints from the vehicle, which matched those of a Cambodian man identified only as Thon, 35.

Investigators then searched the driver's apartment, but it turned out he and his wife had fled with their belongings Friday night, said Col. Chairat Rungruang, head of the Bang Bo station.

Investigators are coordinating with officials manning border checkpoints as the man is expected to attempt to flee the country.

Police also contacted Mr. Thon's relatives to persuade him to surrender.

Thailand's roads are particularly dangerous, and while travelers of many nationalities assume that pedestrian crossings are safe places, like in their own countries, this is not the case in Thailand.

Dr. Waraluck Supavatjariyakul, 33, and the police officer's motorcycle.

In January 2022, a young Thai doctor was killed on a pedestrian crossing by a police officer on a motorcycle.

See: Why are Thailand's roads among the deadliest in the world?

You should always make sure there are no vehicles approaching before crossing, and don't think that a vehicle approaching at high speed in the distance will stop when it sees you.

See also:

37 foreign tourists injured in bus crash in Thailand

Minibus crash in Thailand: one dead, 13 foreign tourists injured

New points-based license for traffic violations in Thailand

Artificial Intelligence Tracks Traffic Offenders in Bangkok

Source: Bangkok Post