Train driver admits meth use days before deadly Bangkok crash
The driver of a freight train that collided with a bus in Bangkok on May 16, killing eight people, admitted to regular methamphetamine and cannabis use, with his last use occurring 10 days before the deadly crash.
BANGKOK — Police said the driver of a freight train involved in the deadly train-bus collision in Bangkok admitted to regularly using methamphetamine and cannabis, with his last reported drug use occurring 10 days before the crash.
The revelation came as investigators continued probing the collision between freight train No. 2126, travelling from Laem Chabang to Bang Sue, and air-conditioned bus No. 206 at the Makkasan railway crossing beneath the Airport Rail Link on Asok-Din Daeng Road on 16 May. The crash triggered a major fire, killing eight people and injuring more than 30 others.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Worasak Pisitbanakorn, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 1, said on 18 May that police had set up a joint investigation team following a two-hour case meeting at Makkasan Police Station.
The bus driver has been charged with reckless driving causing death, injury, serious injury and property damage.
Meanwhile, the train driver and a railway flagman were charged with negligence causing death and injury. Investigators said the two men gave conflicting statements, with the flagman insisting he had signalled properly while the train driver claimed no warning signal had been given.
Police said investigators would inspect every railway crossing along the train's route to examine train speeds and determine whether warning signals were clearly given at each crossing.
Authorities have also requested permission from the State Railway of Thailand to reconstruct the incident and review the driver's field of vision. Investigators are seeking data from the train's black box and questioning railway officials over operational regulations, including why train drivers are currently allowed to operate without formal driving licences.
Police said the train driver claimed he regularly used methamphetamine and cannabis, sometimes taking several pills at a time, though investigators have not yet confirmed the statement. A background check also found he had previously faced a drug-use case in 2019 in Thung Song district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province.
Authorities said police would work with related agencies to strictly enforce laws at railway crossings to prevent similar accidents in the future.
