Pattaya bus smash kills two

16 May 2011

On Friday morning, a Pattaya to Bangkok bus ran into a concrete pillar, killing the driver and one passenger. The tragic accident took place just after 09:00 as driver Kitisak Pisawong, 51, had left the Burapha Vithi Expressway in Samutprakarn’s Bangkaew Sub-district.

Mr Pisawong was crushed to death as the 50-seater coach rammed the pillar and an as yet unnamed foreign female sitting behind him was also killed. The other 27 passengers, mainly foreign nationals, aboard the bus were transported to two nearby hospitals, Piyamin and Chularat, for treatment for minor injuries.

After check-ups, most of the passengers were discharged from the hospitals, with just a few detained for additional observations. Bangpli police and emergency services crews attended the scene of the accident.

A police spokesperson said that no other vehicle was involved in the accident, and officers had initially concluded that Mr Pisawong had not slowed down, and then lost control, as he left the main highway for the arterial road. Investigations are ongoing and the vehicle will be checked to ascertain that the crash was not caused by mechanical failure.

The coach was one of the Rod Rungruang Tour Company’s and was travelling to the Ekamai Bus Berminal on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok from North Pattaya.

Pattaya is around a two-hour trip from central Bangkok and most people use buses for the journey. There is a train service, but services are infrequent and at inconvenient times.

Tags: Pattaya bus kills