The 75-year-old man who drove his car into a group of students and parents as they were crossing a road to their school in Mueang district of Nakhon Ratchasima, killing a police officer and a kindergarten student, was granted bail yesterday by the provincial court.
Relatives of the suspect, only identified as “Somsak”, who is a retiree from government service, posted 150,000 baht in cash as a surety for his release, after the police did not raise any objection to bail.
Somsak has been charged with driving while drunk, causing death and injury.
The Ban Don Khwang School in Hua Thalay sub-district, which had been temporarily closed since the tragedy on Monday, reopened yesterday for all classes, except for the kindergarten.
Meanwhile, teachers and management of the school have proposed that a pedestrian bridge be built in front of the school, to reduce the risk posed by passing cars to students crossing the road.
The teachers pointed out that the school is located on a slope in a curve in the road, forcing motorists to accelerate to scale the slope. Several accidents have been reported at the scene, they said.
After the accident on Monday, officials in charge of road safety held a meeting to develop long-term measures to reduce the accidents, one of which is the construction of a pedestrian bridge, as well as installation of more traffic signals.
