SONGKHLA: A volunteer ranger who was seriously injured when a passenger train rammed into his car at an unmanned rail crossing in Bang Klam district on Friday evening was pronounced dead on Saturday.
The crash occurred at the crossing behind Bang Klam Hospital in tambon Bang Klam, when the car drove through the crossing and into the path of a Chumphon-Hat Yai train. The crossing had lights but no barrier.
The force of the crash threw the car about 20 metres away from the tracks. The driver was seriously hurt but the train had no damage, said police.
The driver, identified later as Ancharin Thongchum, 23, was pronounced dead on Saturday. He was based at the 42nd ranger unit in Yaring district of Pattani and was on leave before the fatal crash.
Relatives took his body for funeral rites at Wat Yoongthong in Bang Klam district.
According to the initial police investigation, the car driver might have not noticed the train, or he might have driven at high speed and failed to apply the brakes when seeing the approaching train. Police are coordinating with railway authorities to find the exact cause of the crash.
