CHIANG MAI, Thailand – A 67-year-old municipal street cleaner was killed early on 5 October when a car struck her as she worked on Bunrueangrit Road, with police reporting the 48-year-old driver had an alcohol reading of 172 milligrammes per cent.

Driver says not aware of crash that killed city cleaner

The crash happened about 4.35am on the roadside in Si Phum subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Mai district. The victim, identified only as Somjit, worked for Chiang Mai Municipality. Rescue workers from the Phetkasem Chiang Mai Foundation found her pinned under the vehicle and used lifting gear to raise the car, but she had already died. Her body was sent to Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital for a post-mortem.

A witness said the car was weaving erratically along the road before they spotted a person trapped beneath it. The witness honked to force the driver to stop, but the vehicle kept going, dragging the victim more than 100 metres, according to the account. The witness then flagged down a passing motorcyclist to block the car, and the driver finally stopped, prompting a call to rescue workers.

At the scene, the driver — named as Chumnat — appeared intoxicated. He reportedly bowed before the victim’s body once it was pulled free, saying he had not meant to cause the crash, then waited to surrender to investigators.

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Pol Col Pratchaya Thisala, superintendent of Mueang Chiang Mai Police Station, said officers tested the driver after the collision, returning a reading of 172 milligrammes per cent. He was charged with drink-driving causing death. Investigators released him on bail after finding he waited at the scene, showed no sign of fleeing and confessed, with a lawyer handling the process. The case will go to court for prosecution.

-Thailand News (TN)