A man with three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system killed a police officer after smashing into him while attempting to drive through a checkpoint in Muang district of Chon Buri on Friday night.
Pol Sen Sgt Maj Thanakorn Intharasuwan succumbed to his injuries shortly after being hit by a white MG sedan with Bangkok licence plates at 10.30pm, police said.
Emergency responders performed chest compressions for over 20 minutes but were unable to revive the officer. He was pronounced dead before being taken to hospital.
Pieces of the officer’s light baton and equipment were found as far as 100 metres away from the traffic checkpoint he was operating, according to witnesses.
The driver of the sedan, identified only as Thanasak, was reportedly inebriated at the time of the incident.
Unable to answer any questions at the scene, the driver was tested and found to have 153 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system. The legal limit is 50mg. In a drunken state, he was taken to the Don Hua Lo police station for legal processing.
The driver was later confirmed to be a 30-year-old programmer working for a company located in the Amata Nakhon Industrial Estate. His wife was called to acknowledge the incident and provide further information.