Thai man shoots dead 3 teens after his BMW crashes into their motorcycle

Theerasak Boonruang, who faces first-degree murder charges, was under the influence of methamphetamine when the accident happened, police said
He fled but when authorities tracked him down, he attempted to escape again through a side door before finally giving himself up

Thailand

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 9:00pm, 7 Sep, 2022

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A man was arrested for gunning down three high-school students in an act of road rage, after his BMW sedan collided with their motorcycle in southern Thailand.

Police said Theerasak Boonruang, who faces first-degree murder charges, was under the influence of methamphetamine when the incident happened in Khao Phanom district of Krabi province on Tuesday.

Angered over the accident that smashed his windscreen, Theerasak stepped out of his car and fatally shot the three 18-year-olds, a boy and two girls. He also set the motorcycle on fire before fleeing.

Volunteer rescuers treat a woman at the scene of a road accident near Bangkok in 2020. Thailand’s roads were named as the deadliest in Southeast Asia by the World Health Organization in 2018. Photo: AFP

Passers-by who spotted the flames from the burning vehicle alerted rescuers and police who found the victims’ bodies on the roadside with gunshot wounds.

Police said the teen male was shot in the face and the two girls were shot in the back. Officers also recovered parts of the car broken off in the crash at the scene as well as shell casings from a shotgun.

Further investigations led police to a car tyre shop run by Theerasak in Khao Phanom district’s Pheru Tiew where they found the damaged sedan.

Officers asked the 42-year-old to surrender but a brief stand-off ensued as he attempted to escape through a side door before surrendering to police.

Theerasak told police he did not know the victims and had no argument with them, adding he was high on methamphetamine.

The suspect was also charged with illegal possession of a weapon and consuming narcotics.

In 2018, Thailand’s roads were named as the deadliest in Southeast Asia by the World Health Organization which said the country’s road accident-related death rate was 32.7 out of every 100,000 people.

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Thai authorities have attempted to crack down on driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and rolled out measures such as promoting using dashboard cameras to shame dangerous drivers.

But the UN health body said the country’s high road death rate was due to weak enforcement of driving rules. It reported that only 51 per cent of motorcyclists wore helmets and only 58 per cent of car drivers wore seat belts.

Last year, the Supreme Court reduced to three years and four months the 10-year jail sentence given to a man who shot dead a teenaged student during a roadside parking dispute in eastern Thailand in 2017. A judge also suspended the prison term and put him on probation for two years.