SONGKHLA — A 61-year-old cyclist was killed after a car driven by an air force officer struck him on Sunday in Hat Yai district.
Chatchai Jongraksart died after a Toyota Vios driven by Sgt Kittisak Rakkij, 22, hit him on a local road near the Royal Thai Air Force’s Wing 56 in Kuan Lung sub-district, according to a Khaosod Online report.
Chatchai is the fifth cyclist killed in two months following two separate collisions in Chiang Mai and Bangkok on May 3 and May 5, respectively.
The crash broke his bicycle in half. The car and the bicycle were found in a roadside ditch. Several other riders who were with Chatchai at the time were not hurt.
Hat Yai police investigator Pol Lt Narongrit Wannasiri said Sgt Kittisak, who is attached to Wing 56, was believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel when the fatal accident took place.
Chatchai is an honorary member of a local rescue workers group. His friends said they and Chatchai biked together every morning in two groups, each with six bicyclists, on the road leading to the airbase, but most of them had attended a bicycle riding event in adjacent Bang Klam district.
Pol Lt Narongrit said the cause of the accident was not officially concluded.