Police in fact believe that the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
Capt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the Thalang Police was notified of an accident near a U-turn at the Thai Wassadu building suppliers on Thepkrasattri Rd southbound at 5:30am (Mar 22).
Capt Kraisorn arrived at the scene along with rescue workers to find a Krabi-registered Toyota Wish SUV taxi in a roadside ditch. Three Chinese tourists, all from the same family, had sustained injuries in the accident.
One of them suffered a cut to their head while the other two had minor injuries.
They were taken to Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Phuket Town.
The three Chinese tourist were named as Liu Guanhuai and Zhang Lei, both 35, and five years-old girl Liu Shiyue. All hail from Hubei, China.
Taxi driver Chaiwat Suasan, 51, told police, “I was driving with the Chinese family from Phuket International Airport to an accommodation in Patong. I was driving at normal speed. When I arrived at the scene, the left shock absorber broke causing me to lose control of the vehicle.”
However, Capt Kraisorn told The Phuket News that he did not believe Chaiwat’s story.
“At this stage we believe that the driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel,” he said.
Police are now continuing the investigation to find the true cause of the accident.