POLICE and rescuers rushed to help students who got injured after their van smashed into a tree in northern Lampang province at 6 a.m. this morning (Dec. 14) as they were returning to Chiang Mai city from an excursion to Nakhon Ratchasima province, Sanook.com reported.
The accident occurred at Na Sang sub-district, Ko Kha district of this province just 200 metres from the police guard box.
Upon arriving police saw that the van was badly damaged and even the wheels had come off with the force of the impact against a roadside teak tree that had broken into two
They rescued 11 students, one of them male, with some still stuck in the van. They were all rushed to Ko Kha and Lampang hospitals.
Police questioned the driver, Ms Sumitra, 23, who is herself a student, and she said after attending a student activities camp in Nakhon Ratchasima province they departed for Chiang Mai at 6 p.m. last evening.
However she added that she felt sleepy all the way and had stopped at a petrol pump to nap but was still drowsy upon resuming driving which led to the van plunging into a roadside rut and hitting the tree.
The van belongs to Chiang Mai Students Peace Society and they were rushing to return it this morning.
Pol. Lt. Col. Kraising Wangnaikul, an investigation officer at Ko Kha police station, came to investigate and recorded footage of the accident as evidence. The young woman driver will be later questioned in detail about this accident.
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Top: The scene of this morning’s accident in Lampang. Thai headline says, “senior student was drowsy.” Photo: Sanook.com
