8 killed in van crash; driver goes on the run
Supachai Phetchthewee
The Nation
BANGKOK: -- Highways Police Division chief Pol Maj-General Noraboon Naenna vowed to enforce strictly the laws limiting transport vans' speed to 120km/h, after a van transporting foreign labourers crashed into the rear of a parked six-wheel truck yesterday morning, killing eight people and injuring five others.
The accident happened at 7am at Kilometre 59 of Kanchanaphisek Ring Road heading towards Bang Na.
The impact killed two Thais and six Cambodians. Two injured Burmese women and three Cambodian women were taken to Piyamin Hospital.
Police suspected van driver Natthapong Phothong, 37, who fled the accident scene, dozed off behind the wheel and lost control of the van, causing it to crash into the truck, which was parked on the roadside.
The van was hired to transport workers from Pathum Thani to Sa Kaew's Rong Kleu border market, and was not a regular transport van, Noraboon said.
He said he would meet with highway police to tackle the issue of transport-van drivers who speed to squeeze in more trips, and who use additional seats to cram in more passengers.
He said speeding and overloading made it very difficult for drivers to control the vans. Police would strictly enforce the laws, including limiting transport vans to 120km/h on highways, Noraboon said.
Highway Police 8 superintendent Pol Colonel Thanawat Wattanaku said the accident followed a crash on January 6 in which a Bangkok-Chachoengsao transport van crashed into a stationary 18-wheel trailer, killing six passengers, on the Bangkok motorway.
Pointing out that the January 6 accident resulted from the driver dozing off, he said the latest accident might have occurred for the same reason.
Police will bring the driver to justice soon, he said.
Thanawat aims to call in van operators and drivers to talk about safe highway driving. He said a law should be drafted making van operators or companies liable for negligence when drivers cause accidents, because passengers put their lives in drivers' hands.
