Police have yet to file additional charges against the driver of a Bentley involved in a Bangkok expressway collision that left eight people injured early last Sunday, despite finding traces of narcotics in his system.
Suthat Siwapiromrat was earlier charged by police with reckless driving causing damage and injuries following the incident, which involved three vehicles. He is out on bail.
Pol Maj Gen Jirasan Kaewsaeng-Ek, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), said the result of Mr Suthat's blood test showed traces of narcotics in his system, namely ketamine and methamphetamine.
As such, he said, Mr Suthat will shortly be summoned to acknowledge the charges of illicit use of a type-2 and type-1 narcotic, respectively.
Pol Lt Gen Thiti Saengsawang, MPB commissioner, has ordered Pol Col Sukij Arunrerkthawil, deputy commander of Traffic Police Division under the MPB, to head the committee investigating the accident.
The Bentley driven by Mr Suthat rammed into the back of a Mitsubishi Pajero in the middle lane of the Chaloem Maha Nakhon expressway on Jan 8. The impact caused the Pajero to overturn before it was struck by an oncoming vehicle in the right-side lane. The incident left six people in the Pajero -- one of them a four-year-old child -- injured, along with two firefighters in the other vehicle.
After the collision, Mr Suthat, refused a breathalyser test, but was allowed to take a blood test instead, a decision which has now come under scrutiny.