Police probed for recklessness after celebrity injured in crash
Two Ayutthaya highway policemen could face a disciplinary probe over an allegation that their reckless behaviour in pulling over a truck led to a three-vehicle accident involving a celebrity on Sunday, senior police officers said on Monday.
The case came to light after “X Factor Thailand” contestant and musician Orawee “Hawa” Choochuen, 27, posted on Facebook on Sunday that she had sustained a deep cut above her eyebrow in the accident.
Orawee wrote that police had suddenly walked onto the highway to pull over the truck, so her car and the other one had to brake suddenly, causing the truck to rear-end her car and causing her to collide with the second car.
Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Patanacharoen said the two unnamed officers had been suspended from duty and asked to report to the Highway Police Command’s fact-finding probe.
If they are found guilty, they could face both disciplinary punishment and criminal charges.
The officers were being initially investigated to determine if they had failed to perform their duties, which could result in a disciplinary committee being set up, Highway Police deputy chief Pol Colonel Ekkarat Limsangkat said.
He added that police would provide compensation to people affected by the crash.
Ekkarat said an initial inquiry found that the 10-wheeled truck that had crashed into two cars on Highway No 347 in Ayutthaya’s Bang Pa-in district had been speeding in the far right lane.
Ekkarat said the officers were patrolling the area in response to a complaint about speeding trucks and that when they tried to pull over the vehicle, the cars ahead of it braked and it could not stop in time, causing the collision.
He said the truck driver had been charged with reckless driving, while damage to the two cars would be covered by insurance.
Orawee’s boyfriend, Kotchakorn Mingboon, who was also in her car, posted on Facebook that the truck’s insurance would cover damage to their car and musical instruments, as their own insurance company had said the damage exceeded their coverage.
He also posted a copy of the police complaint, which he claimed had been written without his input and did not mention the reason why the cars had suddenly braked.
He claimed an on-duty officer at the precinct had said there was no need to specify the cause of crash as people would not be interested why it had happened, just who was at fault.
See VDO clip: https://www.facebook.com/hawahawax/videos/1771799079505085/