Teen Loses Leg in Fatal Crash, Wrongly Listed as Driver

A 19-year-old man has petitioned the Mueang Udon Thani police chief, claiming investigators falsely recorded him as the driver in a fatal motorcycle crash that cost him his leg. The accident occurred on July 11 when the motorcycle he was riding pillion on slammed into a parked pickup truck, killing the actual driver. The victim's lawyer, Nobita, is demanding an inquiry committee to establish the truth after police could not explain the evidence used to label his client as the rider.

On October 30 at Mueang Udon Thani Police Station, lawyer Kritsada Lohitdee (known as Lawyer Nobita) accompanied 19-year-old Anuchit and his guardians to meet Station Superintendent Pol. Lt. Col. Phatthana-wong Chanphon. They filed a complaint seeking justice over the July 11 crash on the Udon Thani-Khon Kaen outbound road near Ban Nong Phai in Non Sung subdistrict, Mueang district, Udon Thani province. The collision with a pickup parked on the shoulder left one person dead and Anuchit with a severed leg.

Lawyer Nobita told Pol. Lt. Col. Phatthana-wong that the crucial issue is the police daily log listing Anuchit as the motorcycle driver, even though Anuchit has consistently maintained he was the pillion passenger and the deceased was the actual rider. He asked what witness testimony or evidence investigators used to designate his client as the driver, but said police could not provide a clear explanation. He requested an investigative committee be formed.

Additional doubts surround the ownership of the parked pickup — whether it belonged to the Highway Department or the Provincial Electricity Authority — and the circumstances leading up to the crash. No definitive conclusion has been reached on fault.

Anuchit recounted that before the accident, he had gone to a department store in downtown Udon Thani with a male friend and a female relative — the one who later died — travelling on two motorcycles. On the return trip, the male friend went home separately, so Anuchit rode pillion on the motorcycle driven by the deceased. When they reached the crash site, the motorcycle lost control and plowed into the parked pickup. Rain and fog had reduced visibility, making the obstruction hard to see. The impact injured Anuchit's leg, hip, and head, while the driver died at the scene. Anuchit insists he was not driving.

Pol. Lt. Col. Phatthana-wong said he has initially ordered the investigation chief to appoint a special task force to verify the facts. They will inspect the scene in detail, both on the day of the accident and the period beforehand, to gather comprehensive information. They will interview additional witnesses and people at the scene, especially highway workers cutting trees nearby and the first group of people who arrived at the site, to compile evidence for the fact-finding review.