Two Australian tourists were among those injured in a freak car crash in Thailand.
Five people, including one American and two Australians, were walking past a massage shop on Second Road in Pattaya at 7.50pm on Wednesday when the driver of a BMW 520d lost control of the car which reversed suddenly, and mounted the kerb.
Disturbing footage showed the driver was only half inside the vehicle when it took off, crashing into staff of the massage shop and passers-by, including an Australian dad pushing his son in a stroller.
One person was caught under the vehicle’s wheels as it came to a stop inside the luggage store next door.
The five victims – a 56-year-old Australian, his two-year-old son, a 45-year-old American man and two Indian men – were rushed to Pattaya Memorial Hospital. No deaths were reported.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Suthiraphan Tapsri said the female driver, 57-year-old Phannee Tan-ngam, had just been involved in a separate crash with a motorbike.
Tan-ngam claimed she sat in the driver’s seat with the door open as she retrieved her driver’s licence to exchange details when the car suddenly reversed.
‘We inspected the scene and found that CCTV cameras from a massage parlour clearly captured the incident,’ he said.
An Australian father and son were hospitalised after a car reversed over them in Thailand
The Australians were among five people hit by the car while walking outside a massage store in Pattaya
‘The footage shows the driver getting into the car and, before the door could be closed, the vehicle suddenly moved backwards and struck the tourists, causing the injuries.
‘We have collected the CCTV footage for examination and are questioning witnesses as part of legal proceedings.’
The driver claimed the handbrake was engaged but she wasn’t sure if she left the automatic gear in reverse.
‘I had no intention of causing the accident. I am ready to take responsibility for those I injured,’ Tan-ngam said.
A masseuse sitting on the steps at the front of the massage shop said the incident could easily have killed people.
‘Everyone in the shop screamed because a tourist was pushing a pram past at that moment. The car hit many tourists directly,’ she said.
‘We were lucky because we usually sat on that path but today we were sitting on the steps. Otherwise, someone would have been run over and killed.’
The female driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle while trying to receive her licence
Five people were hospitalised but no deaths were reported from the crash
The incident occurred on a busy stretch of Second Road, one of Pattaya’s main streets, where there are many shops, restaurants, bars and hotels.
The massage shop was adjacent to Central Festival, one of Pattaya’s biggest shopping malls.
