PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: Four people were killed and seven severely injured when a chartered van taking a family from Ratchaburi to Yala crashed into a tree on the median strip of the main highway in Muang district on Monday morning.
The accident happened on a downhill section known as Thung Kratai hill at Ban Bueng in tambon Ao Noi of the Phetkasem Highway about 7am.
Police said the white Toyota Commuter van, registered in Ratchaburi province, smashed head-on into a tree, uprooting it. The driver's side and roof were ripped off. Its rear still rested on the highway, partially blocking the lane to traffic.
They suspect the van was going too fast or the driver dozed off, and it veered onto the tree-lined median strip.
Two people were found dead outside the van. The driver was dead at the wheel. Nine injured people were rushed to Prachuap Khiri Khan Hospital, where one was later declared dead.
The three dead passengers were all women, and so were five of the seven injured people.
Police said the passengers were all from the same family. They had chartered the van in Ratchaburi to visit Betong district in Yala.
Those killed were identified as the driver Boonmee Deemangkorn, Patcharee Po-ngern, Apiwan Chorphetthai and Porn-usa Roopkhamdee. The injured are Sompong Po-ngern, Prathum Klomlert, Kimcheng Po-ngern, Saman Jitphan, Somsak Po-ngern, Somsri Noiprasit, Urai Po-ngern and Somkiat Po-ngern.