Seventeen people were injured when their tour coach, taking them from Bangkok to Surat Thani, rammed into the rear of an articulated lorry in Sawee district of Chumphon province early this morning.
The coach driver later told police that the accident occurred when he bent down to pick up his cell phone, which had fallen under the steering wheel.
The coach picked up a group of 44 foreign nationals in the Khao Sare area of Bangkok for a journey to Surat Thani, from where they would continue their journey to Samui and Pha-ngan islands. There were two drivers on board, working in shifts.
While travelling on the Asian 41 Highway, in Sawee district of Chumphon, the driver’s cell phone fell under the steering wheel. As he was distracted trying to recover it, his coach struck the rear of the truck.
The truck driver told the police that he was heading for a rubber processing factory in Trang province with a load of rubber sheets, adding that he heard a loud bang at the rear of his truck.
While some coach passengers suffered minor injuries, another bus was arranged to take all the coach passengers to Surat Thani, for their onward journeys to Samui and Pha-ngan islands.
Pol Col Wisanu Surawadee, the superintendent of Sawee district police, said the two drivers will be held in custody for alcohol and other substance checks.
