While van driver Somwang Jamsai was killed instantly at the scene, the 55-year-old Rasamee Damchawai, deputy secretary-general to Chularatchamontri Aziz Pitakkhumpol, was pronounced dead at Surat Thani Hospital. The van was heading from Pathum Thani to Songkhla.
Police suspect that the driver dozed off behind the wheel, causing the van to skid off the road and violently crash into the marker and the tree.