Fifty more people were killed and 346 others were injured on New Year’s Day in 339 road accidents nationwide, raising the number killed in the past six days to 272 and 1,694 injured in 1,739 road accidents, according to the ‘Directorate to Prevent and Reduce Road Accidents’.
Speeding was involved in 38.94% of the accidents yesterday, followed by drunk driving (31.56%) and poor visibility (16.81%). Motorcycles were involved in 86.42% of the accidents.
Over the six past days, Surat Thani saw the most accidents, the most injured and the most killed, at 24, 36 and 7 respectively, including the seven people who were killed when their pickup truck crashed into a tree this morning.
Police say that the pickup truck was leaving Pathieu district of Chumphon for Trang province. While travelling through Chaiya district of Surat Thani, the truck tried to avoid a van, which had stopped on the road, and ended up ramming into a roadside tree.
The driver and passengers were trapped in the wrecked vehicle. Two boys and two girls were found dead and three adults were seriously injured. They were taken to Chaiya district hospital for emergency treatment, but all were pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
Last night, five elderly people were killed and about 30 others injured, all of whom were from Samut Sakhon, when their chartered bus struck a roadside tree in Surat Thani.
