British Benz driver sought after fatal Chiang Mai smash

[nauseus]

I bet when they find him, he will not be allowed to refuse breath test, or refuse to go to a police station.

He will get banged up straight away, no bail nothing.

He did wrong so should be punished.

Now we will see the 2 tier Thai system working.

Lets hope so, people need to learn not to flee from accidents, bail is something most people get if they have a good insurance. I got bail bond on mine. But I would not flee from an accident.

But strange your not condemning him for fleeing an accident most foreigners would do so if the guy was Thai. Are you are a Brit too by any chance and is that the reason why you don't think its bad that he runs from an accident ?

I don't care who someone is Thai Dutch, Brit.. whatever.. you just don't flee an accident.

I am condemning him for fleeing, i stated he did wrong, in my book that is condemning him.

I don't know if anyone's already posted this thought up yet or not but, <deleted> how do we know that the named Brit was even driving the car at the time of the reported accident? Second perhaps the car was stolen and the driver perhaps wasn't the reported infamous "Brit."

Hurrah - good post!! I was just about to point out this possibility. Find the guy and also check if the car is registered in his name for a start!

The fella may well be guilty but Mercs and passports are both valuable items. Just saying.

[luke000]

^ The Thai Visa Judges have already found him to guilty of "reckless driving , Drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident " and they have already pronounced that the crash was entirely his fault and that he needs to face the full punishment for his actions............it really doesnt matter if his car may have been stolen and he wasnt driving

[HLover]

^ The Thai Visa Judges have already found him to guilty of "reckless driving , Drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident " and they have already pronounced that the crash was entirely his fault and that he needs to face the full punishment for his actions............it really doesnt matter if his car may have been stolen and he wasnt driving

I only find him guilty of being irresponsible.

He did misplace his passport...

[robblok]

^ The Thai Visa Judges have already found him to guilty of "reckless driving , Drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident " and they have already pronounced that the crash was entirely his fault and that he needs to face the full punishment for his actions............it really doesnt matter if his car may have been stolen and he wasnt driving

Would love to see these same considerations when a Thai drives on after an accident. I remember how the comments are then they are far worse than what we see here.

[luke000]

^ The Thai Visa Judges have already found him to guilty of "reckless driving , Drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident " and they have already pronounced that the crash was entirely his fault and that he needs to face the full punishment for his actions............it really doesnt matter if his car may have been stolen and he wasnt driving

Would love to see these same considerations when a Thai drives on after an accident. I remember how the comments are then they are far worse than what we see here.

From me you would, Yes,

I tend to make decisions on facts, rather than just what I think may have happened .

I also do not differentiate between Thais and Foreigners

[phantomfiddler]

It looks to me like a lot of people are jumping to conclusions here ! Obviously a burmese stole the passport from an english tourist, then stole a nearby Merc, and hurtled off into the night, like they do The englishman is probably rogering his maid, like they do, completely oblivious to the fact that his passport is missing and lots of people are saying nasty things about him

[mesterm]

I wonder if the farang can just say "sorry" and join the monkhood so that all is forgotten and forgiven ...

That seems to work for the rich Thai Benz driver ....

He should also attend the funeral and claim the victim's ghost forgave him.

Like this other Benz driver... http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1435918909

[Chicog]

Amazing amount of benefit of the doubt being awarded to the car owner.

Of course the fact that they can't find him doesn't raise any suspicions whatsover.

I don't blame him for leaving the scene to sober up, much better to be done for leaving the scene of an accident and paying your way out of it than being done for drunk driving, invalidated insurance, etc.

Nothing a Thai wouldn't do in a blink.

No doubt he'll be the nasty farang for doing it though.

P.S. This is not a moral judgement, simply a legal and financial one.

[HLover]

He is probably dead 500-750 meters from the crash site.

[luke000]

It looks to me like a lot of people are jumping to conclusions here ! Obviously a burmese stole the passport from an english tourist, then stole a nearby Merc, and hurtled off into the night, like they do The englishman is probably rogering his maid, like they do, completely oblivious to the fact that his passport is missing and lots of people are saying nasty things about him

No one has said that is what happened .

Some people have just said that because his passport was found in the car, that doesnt necessarily mean that he was driving, which is a fair point

[PETERTHEEATER]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

No indication as far as I can see that this Brit was driving...

I keep at all times a copy of my Passport with up-to-date 90 day report copy, both in the Pickup and in the car, the Pickup at this moment has just left Champon going to Ranong, and I am on my PC 50 odd km north west of BKK..

You're texting whilst riding? Pillion I hope.......

[bheard]

What a mess.

Really sad for the two people killed, but does indicate that they were not constrained, perhaps even in the back, tray area. This is a problem for Thailand. Ultimately it has to be outlawed that anyone can travel in a motor vehicle (trucks and buses included) unconstrained. That is if they want to do something about reducing the crazy road toll.

However if they prefer to continue the way they are currently, then do nothing!

Looks like the Isuzu was rear ended as stated, interesting to see how it folded in the middle. Given a separate chassis I would not expect to see that, but maybe that is due to my old school thinking. . . .

[bangkokheat]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

i think its more like monkey see monkey do, he most likely wouldnt have taken off if he was in britain

[jesimps]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

During my nine years living here I've read of thousands of Thais fleeing the scene of an accident. Now one farang, who happens to be a Brit, has done it the rosey specs brigade are creaming their pants. "Nine years of hovering now we've got one!"

[SOTIRIOS]

...apologize.....make up a pathetic excuse....and he should be fine...???

A real possibility is that : It was not his fault...but he never would expect to be believed or have justice served

...and after reading countless stories of how 'justice only seems to be meted out against foreigners'.....I would not blame him.....

...car accidents...drug possession....

...Thais....apology..... foreigners...pay millions....jail...even death sentences...

...this is really getting out of hand....

[eddie61]

Maybe because they might get lynched/killed by third-parties, friends, relatives etc....

I spent a few few years working in East Africa, where I did quite alot of driving. If I had been in a prang there, I would have been reluctant to hang around at the scene, maybe a drive to the nearest police station is safest? (When I worked in India, farang employees were strictly forebidden from driving at all).

I bet when they find him, he will not be allowed to refuse breath test, or refuse to go to a police station.

He will get banged up straight away, no bail nothing.

He did wrong so should be punished.

Now we will see the 2 tier Thai system working.

Lets hope so, people need to learn not to flee from accidents, bail is something most people get if they have a good insurance. I got bail bond on mine. But I would not flee from an accident.

But strange your not condemning him for fleeing an accident most foreigners would do so if the guy was Thai. Are you are a Brit too by any chance and is that the reason why you don't think its bad that he runs from an accident ?

I don't care who someone is Thai Dutch, Brit.. whatever.. you just don't flee an accident.

Do you know WHY drivers flee the scene of an accident here?

I had a fatal accident in Bangui, CAR (Central African Republic). A young girl ran across the road...... The rest is gruesome.

It was in a crowded market where a French mirage jet had crashed 3 years before, so there was a bad feeling towards white faces.

I got out of the truck, and it was clear I could do nothing to help: I knew that from the thump thump of the tires of a Bedford M-Type.

There was a crowd around, and it was sure to turn very nasty, and very likely life threatening for me and my passenger.

I fled the scene and reported the accident to the nearest police station.

They told me I did the right thing or I would be dead.

I was not drunk, not driving fast, but a kid ran out in front of me,

If I had not fled the scene, I and my passenger would have died that day

[spermwhale]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

Not Brit thing but a Farang that's been living too damn long here and has gone "native," adopting the local way of life.

[luke000]

Amazing amount of benefit of the doubt being awarded to the car owner.

Of course the fact that they can't find him doesn't raise any suspicions whatsover.

I don't blame him for leaving the scene to sober up, much better to be done for leaving the scene of an accident and paying your way out of it than being done for drunk driving, invalidated insurance, etc.

Nothing a Thai wouldn't do in a blink.

No doubt he'll be the nasty farang for doing it though.

P.S. This is not a moral judgement, simply a legal and financial one.

Some people are waiting for the facts before they pass judgement .

You have already come to the conclusion that he was driving and that he was drunk and that he fled the seen , he has no insurance and the fact that they cannot find him is proof that he did it .

He may have taken his car into a garage to get fixed and the mechanic may have taken the car for a drive .

Now, I am not saying that that is what happened, I am just saying that its a possibility .

You have made you mind up already, others are waiting for some facts to be reported before they make their mind up

[ignis]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

No indication as far as I can see that this Brit was driving...

I keep at all times a copy of my Passport with up-to-date 90 day report copy, both in the Pickup and in the car, the Pickup at this moment has just left Champon going to Ranong, and I am on my PC 50 odd km north west of BKK..

You're texting whilst riding? Pillion I hope.......

Just pointing out I am at home 100's of km's away from our Pickup which has my papers in........ also other have said the same since, maybe nothing to do with the British guy......... I have always kept a copy of my Passport in the Pickup and car for over 12 years here... just because there is a i.d in the car it is not automatically that person driving it. my Thai Partner's i.d is always in the Pickup which I also do drive a lot

[prestburypark]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

Bit of a generalisation there robblok, a Brit did flee this particular incident.

Not all brits flee accidents.

Like collaborators in wartime, some Dutch collaborated. Not all Dutch did that.

See how generalisations work?

[prakhonchai nick]

The British passport possibly belonged to a passenger in the Benz, which may have been driven by a Thai. The Brit, may have been injured, and gone off to seek medical help, leaving his pasport in the car.

Lets find out more before condemning anyone.

What does need to be dealt with however is drivers fleeing the scene of an accident...any accident. Minimum 1 year jail -just for fleeing, plus anything else.

[smudger1951]

Who knows the exact details of this accident and whether the driver was under the influence of alchohol or drugs. Because we all know this is the main reason for doing a runner. However, following the Hua Hin attack on a family and other cases I think I would be petrified of getting a beating from others involved. I will stick to no more than pushing a trolley round the Big C.

[fittobethaied]

Friends...it's easy to sit behind a keyboard and be judge, jury and executioner; but I can tell you from personal experience that you will not know how you will respond to this kind of situation until it happens to you first hand.

Back in the early '80's I lived full time in Manila, Philippines, and I leased a brand new Mercedes with driver on a one year contract. It was Christmas eve and I had given my driver a few days off, so I drove myself down to the red light district where I drank till the wee hours of the morning, picked up two hookers and headed back to my condo. I exited the freeway at a high rate of speed and t-boned a small Ford that had run a stop sign. I can't tell you how many times that little car turned in circles and all I could see was smoke everywhere. My two ladies flew up and hit the windshield, but that Mercedes held together like a Sherman tank. I can tell you that my first instinct was self-preservation because I was immediately overcome by FUD...fear, uncertainty and doubt.

I grabbed my beers, my ID's and went running down a small street as fast as I could to escape the carnage, jumped in a cab and headed straight to another of my favorite bars. There I picked up another hooker and a returned to my condo by taxi. The next morning when I awoke I was still drunk, so I called the rental company and reported that my Mercedes has been stolen from the parking garage during the night and I had no idea where it was. At the time I thought I was really being shrewd. Later on that day I sobered up, came to my senses and called them back to report the truth, headed straight to the police station to admit my guilt and take full responsibility for my actions.

As it turned out nobody was hurt and there were two bank executives in the Ford who were also drunk and admitted to running the stop sign, so they refused to press charges against me. I paid the police a few hundred Pesos to make it all go away, the Mercedes was repaired by the company's insurance and all turned out for the good. That marked the beginning of the end for me of years of being alcoholic, and to this day I haven't had a drink in 26 years.

Point being...no matter how moral you think you are, until it happens to you, don't even think you'll have a clue what to do under those circumstances when there's drugs or alcohol involved.

[eddie61]

Maybe because they might get lynched/killed by third-parties, friends, relatives etc....

I spent a few few years working in East Africa, where I did quite alot of driving. If I had been in a prang there, I would have been reluctant to hang around at the scene, maybe a drive to the nearest police station is safest? (When I worked in India, farang employees were strictly forebidden from driving at all).

I bet when they find him, he will not be allowed to refuse breath test, or refuse to go to a police station.

He will get banged up straight away, no bail nothing.

He did wrong so should be punished.

Now we will see the 2 tier Thai system working.

Lets hope so, people need to learn not to flee from accidents, bail is something most people get if they have a good insurance. I got bail bond on mine. But I would not flee from an accident.

But strange your not condemning him for fleeing an accident most foreigners would do so if the guy was Thai. Are you are a Brit too by any chance and is that the reason why you don't think its bad that he runs from an accident ?

I don't care who someone is Thai Dutch, Brit.. whatever.. you just don't flee an accident.

Do you know WHY drivers flee the scene of an accident here?

I had a fatal accident in Bangui, CAR (Central African Republic). A young girl ran across the road...... The rest is gruesome.

It was in a crowded market where a French mirage jet had crashed 3 years before, so there was a bad feeling towards white faces.

I got out of the truck, and it was clear I could do nothing to help: I knew that from the thump thump of the tires of a Bedford M-Type.

There was a crowd around, and it was sure to turn very nasty, and very likely life threatening for me and my passenger.

I fled the scene and reported the accident to the nearest police station.

They told me I did the right thing or I would be dead.

I was not drunk, not driving fast, but a kid ran out in front of me,

If I had not fled the scene, I and my passenger would have died that day

[gandalf12]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

If the Mercedes rear ended the pick up then the Mercedes driver is in the wrong 100%. I don't see why you say there is no indication of who is at fault.

On the other side of the story the two women in the back of the pick up who died only reinforces the danger of riding in the back like they did. Tragic for them to die like that. Condolences to their families.

As for the Mercedes driver I don't care what his nationality is, lock him up for a minimum of 30 years. He is the first Brit I have heard of running from the scene of an accident. If he did that back home he would be heavily sentenced as he should be

[Caspersfriend]

Friends...it's easy to sit behind a keyboard and be judge, jury and executioner; but I can tell you from personal experience that you will not know how you will respond to this kind of situation until it happens to you first hand.

Back in the early '80's I lived full time in Manila, Philippines, and I leased a brand new Mercedes with driver on a one year contract. It was Christmas eve and I had given my driver a few days off, so I drove myself down to the red light district where I drank till the wee hours of the morning, picked up two hookers and headed back to my condo. I exited the freeway at a high rate of speed and t-boned a small Ford that had run a stop sign. I can't tell you how many times that little car turned in circles and all I could see was smoke everywhere. My two ladies flew up and hit the windshield, but that Mercedes held together like a Sherman tank. I can tell you that my first instinct was self-preservation because I was immediately overcome by FUD...fear, uncertainty and doubt.

I grabbed my beers, my ID's and went running down a small street as fast as I could to escape the carnage, jumped in a cab and headed straight to another of my favorite bars. There I picked up another hooker and a returned to my condo by taxi. The next morning when I awoke I was still drunk, so I called the rental company and reported that my Mercedes has been stolen from the parking garage during the night and I had no idea where it was. At the time I thought I was really being shrewd. Later on that day I sobered up, came to my senses and called them back to report the truth, headed straight to the police station to admit my guilt and take full responsibility for my actions.

As it turned out nobody was hurt and there were two bank executives in the Ford who were also drunk and admitted to running the stop sign, so they refused to press charges against me. I paid the police a few hundred Pesos to make it all go away, the Mercedes was repaired by the company's insurance and all turned out for the good. That marked the beginning of the end for me of years of being alcoholic, and to this day I haven't had a drink in 26 years.

Point being...no matter how moral you think you are, until it happens to you, don't even think you'll have a clue what to do under those circumstances when there's drugs or alcohol involved.

You obviously underestimate the knowingness of many a TV member

[sweatalot]

as usual police will accept when he refuses the breath test.

as usual he will not go to jail but join the monks for a few days

as usual he will only be charged for reckless driving

as usual -if he was drunk all will be forgiven

as usual if he gets convicted he will leave the country and will miss the court because of some "ailment"

Not???

[dotpoom]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

It says the Benz rear ended the pick up....that would put the Benz at fault.

[sanukjim]

I bet when they find him, he will not be allowed to refuse breath test, or refuse to go to a police station.

He will get banged up straight away, no bail nothing.

He did wrong so should be punished.

Now we will see the 2 tier Thai system working.

Lets hope so, people need to learn not to flee from accidents, bail is something most people get if they have a good insurance. I got bail bond on mine. But I would not flee from an accident.

But strange your not condemning him for fleeing an accident most foreigners would do so if the guy was Thai. Are you are a Brit too by any chance and is that the reason why you don't think its bad that he runs from an accident ?

I don't care who someone is Thai Dutch, Brit.. whatever.. you just don't flee an accident.

I don't believe the "stunned" idea.He ran in panic after he saw what he had done(rear end collisions are the fault on the driver in the rear).and was "getting the hell out of Dodge",giving him timed to make up some story about the car being stolen or ,he loaned it to an acquaintance that he just met and forgot his name..Any way he is toast.

[luke000]

As for the Mercedes driver I don't care what his nationality is, lock him up for a minimum of 30 years. He is the first Brit I have heard of running from the scene of an accident. If he did that back home he would be heavily sentenced as he should be

As we are in Thailand, what happens back home is quite irrelevant ,or should Foreigners live by the laws of their home country, rather than Thai laws ?