A former provincial agriculture officer has been sentenced to two years in prison without suspension after a drunk driving crash that killed a police officer and a kindergarten student in Nakhon Ratchasima in December 2024.
The Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Court handed down the ruling today, September 15, in a case involving 75 year old Somsak Asaraijao, who was found guilty of driving under the influence and causing death and serious injury.
The case was filed by the public prosecutor along with the families of the two victims and several injured parties.
The fatal incident occurred at 4.10pm on December 23, 2024, as Somsak was driving a car to his home in Chalerm Phrakiat district. While on Highway 226 (Phetmatukla Road), he lost control of the vehicle in Hua Thale subdistrict.
Somsak’s car crashed into a motorcycle, other vehicles, and a group of people near the school, resulting in the deaths of Police Lieutenant Wimut Tansupot, a traffic officer assisting students across the road, and 4 year old Atsadawut Piusuan, a kindergarten student at the same school. Ten other people were injured in the collision.
A breath test showed his blood alcohol content was 197 milligrammes per cent, nearly four times the legal limit.
The court found Somsak guilty under multiple legal statutes but imposed the heaviest charge, causing death and serious injury while driving under the influence, and sentenced him to four years in prison, which was later reduced to two years due to his confession. The court also revoked his driver’s licence and did not suspend the prison term.
After the verdict, the family of Lt. Wimut said they would appeal for a harsher sentence and pursue a civil lawsuit for damages. Varuwan Tansupot, one of the plaintiffs and a family member of the officer, said the sentence was too lenient.
She expressed that the family had lost not only a loved one but also the central pillar of their household. A split-second decision to drive drunk, she said, had taken lives that could never be replaced.
KhaoSod reported that the family is also calling for stricter enforcement of drink-driving laws to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The story Drunk ex-officer jailed for crash that killed cop and 4 year old boy as seen on Thaiger News.
