Chonburi—
At 3:16 AM, on April 4th, 2024, Pattaya City police received an accident report of a foreigner who was allegedly intoxicated on a motorbike colliding with a motorbike taxi driver carrying two young female passengers causing many injuries in front of Wat Chai, Banglamung, Chonburi.
Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation officers and relevant agencies were dispatched to the accident scene and found a damaged red-white motorbike. Nearby, a black motorbike had its front broken in severe condition.
Mr. Nirun Phromsiri, a 35-year-old red-white motorbike taxi rider, who suffered only a minor injury, told the rescue teams that he had picked up two female passengers to bring to Wat Chai for religious reasons.
While Nirun was taking a U-turn to park in front of Wat Chai, he told reporters that the black motorbike rider hit them at the rear at high speed, causing the two female passengers to fall off of the motorbike and suffer serious injuries as their heads hit the ground. Multiple eyewitnesses also told police the same version of events as Nirun’s report.
The suspect on the black motorbike, identified by Pattaya Police as Mr. Ashton James Ellison, a 39-year-old British man, was allegedly heavily intoxicated and had also suffered a head injury, according to the rescue teams.
The rescue teams performed first aid on the Thai victims and the British man and urgently transferred them to a local hospital for immediate medical treatment.
However, it was reported that Ashton, who was receiving treatment at the hospital, allegedly attempted to flee from the hospital when doctors were not paying attention and was immediately taken into Pattaya City police custody.
Initially, Pattaya City police inspected the accident scene and gathered evidence from CCTV. The police would conduct alcohol tests on Ashton to determine whether he was drunk driving or not before processing legal action accordingly.
The two seriously injured young girls remained at a local hospital as of press time and their condition was not immediately disclosed by doctors.
