A drunk Thai BMW driver drove against the traffic flow, causing a pile-up involving 10 vehicles on Ratchaphruek Road in the Nonthaburi province near Bangkok.
Officers from Ratchaphruek Police Station arrived to find five vehicles involved in a rear-end collision in the left lane. Among them were a Porsche 911 Carrera and a Porsche Cayenne S, both of which sustained minor rear damage from sudden braking.
Approximately one kilometre away, officers came across five more damaged vehicles on the Khlong Bang Bua Thong Bridge. This crash was triggered by a white BMW 320d, which had suffered severe damage to its bumper.
Dashcam footage revealed that the BMW had been driven against the traffic flow before colliding with a pickup truck carrying coconuts. Other vehicles swerved to avoid the crash and braked abruptly, leading to the pile-up.
The pickup driver, 38 year old Chairat Sompithak, was injured and taken to the hospital. The BMW driver, identified as 37 year old Paphatsarin, reportedly injured her leg. She did not flee the scene but appeared intoxicated and was unable to provide a coherent statement to the police.
Channel 7 reported that Paphatsarin told officers, “Not that serious, officer. Just a little bit of backtracking.” However, police discovered she had driven against the flow of traffic for over five kilometres. She also claimed to have consumed only a small amount of alcohol, yet a breath test revealed a blood alcohol level of 205 milligrammes per cent.
Paphatsarin was taken to the police station for questioning and faces further legal action. Details of her penalty have not yet been disclosed. Meanwhile, twelve victims of the crash also visited the police station to give statements.
In a related incident last November, another Thai woman driving a friend’s BMW at high speed crashed into a motorcycle, killing two children and their mother in Chumphon province.
Although her blood alcohol level was below the legal limit at 28 milligrammes per cent, she was caught using her mobile phone while driving. The victims’ family demanded 24 million baht in compensation, but the case remains under court consideration.
The story Drunk BMW driver drives against traffic and causes 10 car pile-up as seen on Thaiger News.
