Thalang –
An American motorbike rider has been pronounced dead at the scene after a truck driver hit him and then fled the scene of the accident in the Mai Khao sub-district.
The Tha Chatchai Police were notified of the accident at 7:30 P.M. on Thursday (January 11th) on the Thep Krasattri Road southbound lane near Soi Luan In.
Police, rescue workers, and the Phuket Express arrived at the scene to find the damaged motorbike on a footpath. The body of a foreign rider was found nearby with severe head injuries.
He was later identified by police as a 60-year-old American man. (The Phuket Express is withholding his name pending embassy and family notification). He worked at a hotel in Maikhao as the director of recreation, stated police, and was a fairly well-known local ex-pat.
Witnesses told police that there was a truck turning into a soi in front of the motorbike rider who was coming on straight away. The motorbike was struck by the truck and the rider fell onto the ground with the truck driver then running over the rider. The truck driver did not slow or stop and appeared to immediately flee the scene after the accident.
Thalang police are checking CCTV footage nearby for further legal action and to identify and arrest the driver of the truck. They have also encouraged the driver of the truck to turn himself into police and surrender.
