PHUKET: A 73-year-old expat on a motorbike escaped serious injury after he pulled out across oncoming vehicles on Wiset Rd in Rawai this morning (May 23) and was struck by a motorbike.
The rider of the other motorbike, despite flying through the air and landing on the road, also escaped with only minor injuries.
Pol Maj Rajan Donkandet of the Chalong Police was notified of the accident, in front of Soi Salika, at about 9:35am.
Traffic Police rushed to the scene to find two motorcycles in the middle of the road. Both had sustained heavy damage in the collision.
Police named the expat as Georgie Simianov Georgiyev, 73, from his Thai driver’s licence. Police did not confirm his nationality.
The other rider was identified as Kittisak Buayai, 31.
After questioning witnesses and viewing CCTV footage of the collision (see video here), police explained that Mr Kittisak was riding northbound when Mr Georgiyev pulled out from a sidestreet.
Mr Georgiyev was heading towards the U-turn area in the centre of the road. However, as he did so, he cut across in front of Mr Kittisak approaching on his motorbike.
As shown in the CCTV footage, a car in the outside lane prevented Mr Kittisak from seeing Mr Georgiyev coming out from the sidestreet. By the time Mr Kittisak saw Mr Georgiyev, he had very little time to avoid a collision.
The resulting impact sent Mr Kittisak flying through the air and landing heavily on the road. Mr Kittisak, wearing a full-face Helmet, appeared to suffer little to no injuries at all.
Mr Kittisak’s motorbike struck the rear section of the motorbike ridden by Mr Georgiyev, who suffered only minor injuries from landing on the road at slow speed. His motorbike ended up metres away in the lanes heading in the opposite direction.
Both riders and the remains of their motorbikes were taken to Chalong Police Station to resolve the issue and agree on damages to be paid, Chalong Police reported.
