NONTHABURI, Thailand – Three people were killed after a BMW SUV allegedly driven by a drunk motorist slammed into a tuk-tuk in Bang Bua Thong district, just outside Bangkok, early Monday morning. Police responded to the crash at about 4:30 a.m. on July 20 at the entrance to Soi 12 inside a housing estate in Sano Loi subdistrict. Rescue workers and forensic medical personnel also attended the scene. CCTV footage recorded at 4:08 a.m. showed the tuk-tuk leaving Soi 12 with two passengers before turning right onto the estate’s main road. Moments later, a black BMW iX3 traveling at high speed crashed into the vehicle, sending it overturning before the BMW veered off and struck a roadside tree.
All three occupants of the tuk-tuk died at the scene. They were identified as driver Prathumporn Prasertkantrong, 37, and passengers Phattra Saengow, 77, and Lamai Atchakornlak, 82.
The tuk-tuk was completely wrecked, while the BMW sustained severe front-end damage after hitting the tree, with its airbags deployed. The BMW driver, identified as 32-year-old Yotsathorn Jongphutsiri, remained at the scene and appeared intoxicated, according to police. He told officers he had just returned from watching the FIFA World Cup at a restaurant in the Ratchaphruek area and said he would take responsibility for the crash. He declined to answer questions from grieving relatives about whether he had been drinking.
Namploy Ploynamngoen, 38, niece of the two elderly victims, said her aunts were on their way to Bang Bua Thong Market to sell snacks when the BMW swerved and crashed into the tuk-tuk. She said she heard the impact from inside her home and rushed outside to find the vehicle destroyed. She vowed to pursue the case to the fullest extent of the law. Rungsak Prasertkantrong, 49, husband of the tuk-tuk driver, said his wife had transported the two women to the market every morning for years. The couple had been together for more than 20 years and were raising two children, currently in Grade 7 and Grade 3. He questioned why anyone would drive at high speed inside a residential estate and called on authorities and the media to ensure justice is served. Police said a breath alcohol test found the BMW driver had a blood alcohol level of 152 milligrams percent, more than three times Thailand’s legal limit of 50 mg%. He was taken into custody and will face legal proceedings.
