Three teenagers died when police chased the motorcycle they were on and hit it early Sunday morning.
Pol. Lance Cpl. Yannapat Preechasonthikul, 25, and his partner, Pol. Lance Cpl. Pipatporn Kaoeian, also 25, were at Phetkasem Police Station when they saw several teens riding on Bang Khae road. They were a group of about 10 bikes. Some of the drivers and passengers weren’t wearing helmets while some of the bikes had no license plates, reported Khaosod English.
When asked to stop, they went faster to try to evade police, according to Yannapat. The partners chased the teens and their motorcycle hit one carrying two boys and one girl. The crash killed all three teens.
The deceased boys’ names were Wanlop Khotpali, 17, and Asada Chandahan, 14. The girl was Benjamas Baikhaew, 18.
Meanwhile, Yannapat broke a shoulder and his nose in the accident while Pipatporn broke some teeth and hurt his neck. Both the officers and the deceased teens were taken to Phetkasem 2 Hospital after the crash.
The officers called the collision an accident.
Police Lt. Col. Pairote Traitham was the supervisor of the partners and said that they were following correct police procedure at the time of the incident. He said that the kids died because of failure to wear helmets.
Criminal charges have not yet been filed, and Pairote ordered an investigation to determine if his officers employed excessive force.
