Phuket - Nasty Accident

ElectrO · #1 06-01-2006, 19:57

Living in Phuket town, I have to travel via tescos new road to kathu then patong. At 8pm last night I witnessed the most horrific accident I have had theunfortunate pleasure to watch.

Those who know the road, about 1.7KM from tesco traffic lights just 500m before the next set on the newe road, there is a sharp right hand bend. Well some clever thai driver decided to drive down the dual carriage way, heading towards the oncoming traffic. I know this is common practice for some reason in Thailand.

Anyway limosine taxi head on into the thai car. I was waiting while all these thais were ripping the car to pieces getting out the passengers. I then noticed that the guy they got from the front seat was a falang. So as soon as I saw this I rushed over. I knew if the people in the car were thai i couldnt do anything, but this was an Australian. As I rushed over, i just checking if he was ok, and he as not that messed up, complaining from his leg hurting alot. Then he started calling out a name, and so I looked in the car and this girl was wrything in agony on the back seat.

I rushed round to the back of the car where I helped pull the girl from the car and sat her down. There was alot of blood over her face, but I didnt see anything pumping blood out. I decided to check for any facial injuries as all i saw was a cut on the back of the head. She had long blonde hair so it was all abit bloody looking. Anyway I started to brush the hair to one side to check her over, and about 1/4 of her scalp was detached from her head. All i saw was a flap of skin and skull. I then ran around looking for a cloth and asking the "now gathered" crowd, and got one and went back to her.

After 10-15minutes which seemed like an hour, the ambulance came with the police and took them to hospital. While this was happening, I decided to look as to where the taxi driver was, and he was still in car. The car was a Toyota Camry, if memory serves me right, and the car had NO front. No Bonnet, no wing, no engine! The engine was through the firewall of the car and into the taxi driver, as well as the steering wheel was where his face was.

Well last night I only had a few hours sleep because I actually couldnt get the girls face and screams out of my mind, to me it was very disturbing.

So today i went to hospital and spoke to them both. They are now in ICU but are perfectly fine, apart from the injuries of course. I think I will get alot better sleep tonight knowing they are pulling through and will live.

Contacing the Australian Consulate and the police, I found out that the police have arrested the Thai driver, for driving down the wrong way, and of course killing someone, and he now faces upto 10 years in prisonment and a maximum 20k baht fine. I do hope that justice will be done and this guy is locked away for killing and driving wrecklessly.

Chances are though, I suppose if he has money he can probably buy his way out of trouble.

Anyway just thought I would share this unpleasant experience with you. Oh the guy they got from the front seat was actually in the back, if he was in the front, then I am sure he would have died like the taxi driver.

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Rizzamabob · #2 06-01-2006, 20:04

Serves him ****ing right, shit like this doesn't help the image of phuket, even makes me think twice about getting a tuk tuk or any form of transport for that matter....

BTW hope you are alright, hope you never have to deal with that kind of stuff ever again.
BTW im not sure if i understand what happened ??
There was a limosine with tourists in it ?? and a thai car with thai guy in it going the wrong way, and the limo ran into the thai guys car and the thai guy died, but the tourists in the limo got cut up ?? is this correct ??

fun2have · #3 06-01-2006, 20:11

any info on these aussies please ?
have 2 friends from work there now, in group of 4, 1 male and 3 female.

any help appreciated eg approx ages etc

if you keep having the horrors mate, talk to somebody professional, i have attended auto accidents and some other blood crazy events.

thanks for the report mate.

stevem · #4 06-01-2006, 20:32

Agreed, between my time living in both Samui and Phuket some of the accidents on the roads are just appaling. Once driving back up to Chalong came around the corner, and there was this guy just lying in the middle of the road with his bike on top of him.

I think the most horrific one I have seen was between Central and the lights at the intersection to Big C, 2 motorbikes head on, I dont think I need say anymore, you can just imagine the mess.

I used to always think when leaving home in the car from Chalong, whether today was the day when I would have an accident, as god only knows how you manage to avoid them everyday.

fun2have · #5 06-01-2006, 20:39

i dont like that part of the road around big c and central also around tesco, it scares me.

i dont mind driving in the country side but phuket worries me too much.

and as soon as it rains, down the hill into patong, thats a horror.

steve w · #6 06-01-2006, 20:43

the 2 aussies named as edward shink 19,and rose perkins 19 both tourists

ElectrO · #7 06-01-2006, 20:50

It was the Thai Taxi Driver that died, and the Thai that caused the accident is being prsecuted by the police.

I got my friend from Phuket Post to sort things out for them and you can read about what he wrote here. (contact australian consulate and police to get the story).

http://phuket-post.com/article.php?i...b20d 73e00d24

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fun2have · #8 06-01-2006, 20:56

not my friends, but feel sorry for 2 young people having a holiday to go through that

ElectrO · #9 06-01-2006, 20:57

Also, I spent 3 hours in the hospital talking to the friends of the guy.

They only just arrived in Phuket, after touring other parts of Thailand. The parents of the casualties are both coming out and should be here tomorrow to be with them.

Edward, broke his leg in 4 places, he chipped his bone on the ankle and had a collapsed nose from the impact. Seeing him today, he looks alot better than last night.

As for Rosie, I did not get much chance to talk to her, because she is heavily sedated. Her scalp was removed from the skull, and she has severed a major nerve near the ear, (i dont know which one that is). But if it does not heal she could lose movement in part of her face (from what I understand) but the chances of full recovery are high.

Thats about all I know now. After seeing how the police described the accident, there is a cross over part for the U-turns, so I guess when the guy was over taking the pickup truck he miss judged it, and flew into the other side of the lane, and killed the taxi driver. I am sure the Driver did not feel a thing. It really doesnt care thinking about when you saw the car and him. I do hpoe he died instantly, thats all I can say.

Also after speaking to Edward, he said the taxi driver was a really nice man, and very friendly. They had not even been in Phuket an hour when this accident occured.

Both of them cannot remember really much of what happened.

Thankyou for the advice about councilling. I will see how things pan out in the next couple of days, because now I know they are safe, my mind is alot more at rest.

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fun2have · #10 06-01-2006, 21:07

Electro, good on you for helping these people at the accident and later, they will really appreciate your help.
nothing better than a friendly face in a far off place.

re delayed reaction, a good outcome always helps (as much as possible in this case)

but it may hit you later, after a rather large mass shooting near my home about 7 years ago, ambulance officers, police, hospital staff, are still going through the horrors.

dizbuster · #11 06-01-2006, 21:44

Don't get me wrong on this people, this is not a "I told you so type post" but if you ever take a trip in a car in Thailand, wearing a seatbelt is a must !! I have no idea whether this couple were or not, judging by the sound of it with the guy ending up in the front, it would appear not, but I am not commenting on what has happened here.

Please always use common sense and wear that seatbelt. I have a 60 inch chest (and belly to match) and I always "buckle up" in Thailand, if I can do it, then so can you. We are all aware of the terrible way in which some Thais drive, let's not become another statistic.

ElectrO · #12 06-01-2006, 21:50

When I spoke to Edward, he said the car had no seatbelts in the back of the car. the limosines used from the airport are quite old Camry's i would guess mid 90's at best. Maybe they were removed or not fitted.

Like UK afaik Australia has the same rules about buckling up in the back. When I put my seat belt on in the back of a Thai car, they always ask me WHY. They tell me I don't have to. i remember that advert in the UK where they showed the son killing his mother because he crushed her because he didn't have a seat belt on. Then he sat down again.....

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stevem · #13 07-01-2006, 07:53

Thats the crazy thing about the Thai law, only the driver and front passenger have to wear a seat belt. Alot of the older cars do not have them fitted in the rear seats. Go figure!!!

Devman · #14 07-01-2006, 10:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevem

Thats the crazy thing about the Thai law, only the driver and front passenger have to wear a seat belt. Alot of the older cars do not have them fitted in the rear seats. Go figure!!!

And don't mention riding in the back of a tuk tuk!!