The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal against the decision by two lower courts to impose a suspended prison term on a teenage girl, now 21, who caused a horrific tollway crash that killed nine people travelling in a passenger van in 2010.
The decision was read out in the Central Juvenile and Family Court on Monday.
The appeal was filed by the girl's family, who claimed a lack of intent, but the court ruled the appeal covered no new ground.
The accident occurred on the night of Dec 27, 2010 when the driver, who was then 17, drove her Honda Civic sedan into the rear of a passenger van on the Don Mueang-Din Daeng elevated tollway.
The van hit the railing and nine people were thrown out of the vehicle and off the tollway on to the road below. The van was heading for the Victory Monument from the Rangsit campus of Thammasat University.
The girl, who was referred to by the media as "Praewa" or "Civic girl" since she was a minor then, was charged with unlicensed and reckless driving causing death and injuries to others, and using a mobile phone while driving. She was indicted in June 2011.
On Aug 31, 2012 the Central Juvenile and Family Court found her guilty of the first charge and sentenced her to three years in jail. The jail sentence was commuted by one-third to two years, suspended for three years.
She was also ordered to report to probation officials every three months for three years.
The girl was required to perform social services by taking care of people being treated for injuries suffered in accidents for 48 hours, and prohibited from driving until she is 25.
The court dismissed the charge of using a mobile phone while driving due to lack of evidence.
The relatives of the victims took the case to the Appeals Court, which on April 22, 2014 upheld the lower court's two-year jail term, but extended the suspension period to from three years to four years.
She was also required to perform community services 48 hours a year for four consecutive years.
The girl's family appealed the decision. With the Supreme Court's rejection, the appeal process is now closed.
The families of the victims are still seeking a combined 120 million baht in damages in a civil case, which has been suspended pending the outcome of the criminal case.
Thongpoon Panthong, the mother of the driver of the van Niramol Pitatanang, said she accepted the court's ruling although she was disappointed.
"We want the case closed quickly. To date, we have never been contacted in any way by the defendant. She has never uttered a word to us," she said.
The teenage driver is seen casually making a phone call from the Din Daeng tollway after she crashed into a passenger van, killing nine people, on Dec 27, 2010 (Bangkok Post file photo)