The driver of the
Suwanchokchai 36 was arrested and charged with reckless driving
resulting in injury.
Boonlua Chatree
A tourist boat driver sustained a fatal neck injury in yet another
Pattaya speedboat accident.
Just more than a month after 18 South Korean tourists and two guides
were hurt in a speedboat collision off Koh Larn, Pithak Aedon, 36, was
struck in the head and neck by the propeller of a boat towing a
banana-boat raft in front of the Natural Park Hotel in Najomtien Beach.
A driver for a Japanese tourist boat, Pithak was rushed to Bangkok
Hospital Pattaya May 25, where he succumbed to his injuries early that
evening.
Unlike in the April 21 Koh Larn accident, the driver of the
Suwanchokchai 36 remained at the scene of the accident. He was arrested
while parked 20 meters from the scene and charged with reckless driving
resulting in injury.
Witnesses said Pithak was waiting for customers to finish their day at
Pattaya Beach and decided to go for a swim. About 20 meters offshore he
was struck by the banana boat, turning the sea a deep red. Tourists
rushed into to help the drowning victim, providing CPR after pulling his
unconscious body ashore.
Following April’s accident, both Thailand’s transport and tourism
ministers had pledged to make marine safety a top priority, promising
swift action to bring safety standards up to internationally acceptable
levels.