Death crash appeal thrown out

The move, in effect, means that civil proceedings against the woman can resume. The Civil Court had previously suspended proceedings pending a final ruling related to criminal offences. 

The defendant, now 21, was convicted of reckless driving that injured and killed others. Last year, the Court of Appeals sentenced the woman to two years jail, but suspended the term for four years. The court also ordered the defendant to tend to accident victims for 48 hours a year, as community service for a period of four years. She was also barred from driving until she reaches the age of 25.

Her appeal was against that verdict. However, with the Supreme Court announcing its decision yesterday, the criminal case against her is now final.

In a shocking accident, the woman’s car slammed into a public-transport van in late 2010 causing it to spin, overturn and hurl several people, including the female van driver, over the edge of an elevated tollway. The van driver and many of her passengers were killed at the scene. 

Thongpoon Panthong, the van driver’s mother, said the defendant had never talked to her – or offered an apology. 

“There is no word of consolation. There is no kind of remedial action from her,” Thongpoon said, in the courtroom yesterday. 

The defendant’s name is withheld because she was a minor at the time of the accident. Relatives of the accident victims have been demanding about Bt120 million in total compensation via the Civil Court.