Police probe mystery of unconscious family found in car

Police inspect the Nissan car found stopped on the side of the elevated Bangkok-Chon Buri expressway with three unconscious people inside it, in Chachoengsao province on Sunday. (Photo by Sonthanaporn Inchan)
Police inspect the Nissan car found stopped on the side of the elevated Bangkok-Chon Buri expressway with three unconscious people inside it, in Chachoengsao province on Sunday. (Photo by Sonthanaporn Inchan)

CHACHOENGSAO: Police in Bang Pakong district are investigating why a family of three were found unconscious in their car on the Bangkok-Chon Buri elevated expressway after a stopover to buy drinks.

Pol Capt Suriya Phumiwat said on Monday he would ask the Land Transport Department's engineers to check if engine fumes had leaked into the cab of the Nissan.

Samples of the beverages the family bought would be sent to Regional Medical Science Centre 6 in Chon Buri province for testing for possible toxins.

Expressway police on Sunday found the driver, his girlfriend and his daughter unconscious, saliva drooling from their mouths, in the car, which had stopped on the expressway in Bang Pakong district.

Pol Capt Suriya said Thanainan Chueathirapong, 31, his 7-year-old daughter and Jitrarat Namchampee, 26, were taken to Queen Sirikit Hospital in the Sattahip naval base for high-pressure oxygen therapy, and were recovering.

Mr Thanainan later told police that Ms Jitrarat and his daughter had bought cups of coffee and a green tea at the refreshment stop. They resumed their trip and shortly afterward he noticed an oily smell inside the car and started feeling dizzy.

He managed to pull over onto the shoulder of the expressway and stop before he fainted. He denied they may have tried to commit suicide.

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Vocabulary

  • dizzy: feeling as if everything is turning round and being unable to balance and about to fall down - เวียนศีรษะ
  • drool (verb): to like something very much so that your mouth waters, salivate over, slobber over - ปล่อยน้ำลายไหล, ชื่นชอบอย่างยิ่ง
  • faint: to suddenly become unconscious for a short time, and usually fall to the ground - เป็นลม
  • fumes (noun): smoke, gas, or something similar that smells strongly or is dangerous to breathe in - ควัน
  • saliva: the liquid produced by glands in your mouth - น้ำลาย
  • shoulder of the road: the side of the road (that is curved down like a shoulder) -
  • suicide: the action of deliberately killing yourself - การฆ่าตัวตาย
  • therapy: a treatment which helps someone feel better, grow stronger, etc., especially after an illness - การบำบัดโรค
  • toxins: poisonous substances, especially ones which are produced by bacteria and which cause disease - พิษ
  • unconscious : in a sleeplike condition, usually from an illness or injury - หมดสติ

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