Drunk Benz driver kills motorcyclist

Damage to a Mercedes-Benz sedan and a motorcycle is seen after a fatal crash on the Thai-Japanese bridge in Pathumwan district of Bangkok that led to the death of the female rider in the early hours of Thursday. (Photo: JS 100 traffic radio)
Damage to a Mercedes-Benz sedan and a motorcycle is seen after a fatal crash on the Thai-Japanese bridge in Pathumwan district of Bangkok that led to the death of the female rider in the early hours of Thursday. (Photo: JS 100 traffic radio)

A drunk executive of a well-known cosmetic clinic was arrested in Bangkok after his Mercedes-Benz struck a parcel delivery rider, knocking her off a flyover onto Rama IV Road below, where she died.

The crash occurred on the Thai-Japanese bridge above the Henri Dunant intersection on Rama IV Road. Police were alerted at 2.35am on Thursday.

Police and rescue workers found the Mercedes on the bridge with damage to its left front. The driver was later identified as Punnamee Satjamongkol, 44, an executive of the Pornkasem clinic.

The motorcycle was found on the bridge with its right rear badly damaged.

The bike rider was found dead on Rama IV Road below with neck injuries and fractured legs and arms. She was later identified as Chawee Arsaisong, 44. 

Mr Punnamee told police that he had just left a party and was on the way home. He was travelling on the bridge heading to Hua Lamphong when his car hit the bike.

Police took Mr Punnamee to the Pathumwan station for an alcohol breathalyser test. He was found to have 119 milligrammes per decilitre (mg/dL) of alcohol in his system, which far exceeds the legal limit of 50.

Police charged him with drunk driving and reckless driving causing death. 

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Vocabulary

  • alert: to tell someone in about a danger or problem so that they can take action to deal with it - เตือนภัย
  • breathalyser (noun): a device used by the police to measure the amount of alcohol in a driver’s breath - เครื่องวัดปริมาณอัลกอฮอล์จากลมหายใจ
  • charge: to accuse someone officially of committing a crime - ตั้งข้อกล่าวหา
  • clinic: a place where a person goes to receive medical treatment -
  • damage (noun): physical harm caused to something which makes it less attractive, useful or valuable - ความเสียหาย
  • exceed: to be more than something; to go beyond a limit - เกินกว่าที่กำหนด
  • executive: a senior manager in a business or other organisation - ผู้บริหาร
  • fracture (verb): to break or crack; to make something break or crack - ทำให้แตก, ทำให้หัก
  • intersection: a place where roads, lines, etc., join or cross each other - สี่แยก
  • reckless (adj): doing something dangerous and not worrying about the risks and the possible results - ชะล่าใจ, เสี่ยง, ไม่ยั้งคิด

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