Japanese driver killed and two Thais injured in horror highway car crash

A Japanese driver was killed and two Thais were severely injured in a horror highway car crash in Thailand.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Phudecha Chueman of the Khao Din Highway Police Station said the traffic accident happened on the Bangkok-inbound side of a motorway in Chonburi province early morning on August 25.

Officers arrived at the scene and found Japanese businessman Shintaro Tsuda, 50, dead inside a mangled Mitsubishi Xpander SUV. He was reported to be the owner of Nippon Steel Welding Company in the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong province.

The policeman said: 'We have questioned witnesses at the scene and requested security camera footage to gather more evidence before proceeding with legal action.'

An overturned green Mercedes Benz and a wrecked Toyota sedan were also found nearby. The Thai drivers, Naphoo Sutphisatham, 38, and Noppachai Yangsingor, 41, survived the crash and were taken to a hospital for treatment. Wanchalerm Kongthong, 30, the driver of a black van also involved in the collision, said he was taking his family to Bangsaen Beach when Naphu's Mercedes Benz allegedly lost control and crashed into the back of the van.

The car was said to have hit a traffic barrier and spun towards the Japanese man's oncoming SUV.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.