British pensioner, 78, and his boyfriend, 27, are killed in horror car crash in Thailand

A British pensioner and his partner have been killed in a car crash in Thailand. 

Keith Miles, 78, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was travelling in a white Toyota Yaris with his boyfriend Tawid Kanadee, 27, when the vehicle collided with a truck in the north-east of the country.

Before this, CCTV footage shows driver Mr Kanadee had slowed down to turn right into a side road before they were shunted from behind by a silver Honda CRV. 

The collision then pushed Mr Miles and Mr Kanadee straight into the path of the oncoming black Isuzu pickup truck.

The vehicle smashed into the small Toyota and Keith Miles – who was sitting in the front-left passenger seat which bore the brunt of the impact – had to be cut free from the wreckage shortly after the crash at around 4.30pm local time. He was pronounced dead at the scene in the Sawang Wirawong district.

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Pictured: Keith Miles, 78, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, (left) was travelling in a white Toyota Yaris with his boyfriend Tawid Kanadee, 27, (right) when the accident happened in north-east Thailand today

Emergency services at the scene in Sawang Wirawong district where the two men were killed

Paramedics rushed Mr Kanadee to the hospital where he later died from the injuries sustained in the accident.

Officers are now investigating the crash as shocked friends paid tribute to Mr Miles, who had worked as a school teacher in the north-east of the country after leaving England several years ago.

Thong Supachai, a friend of the couple, said: ‘Keith was loved by everyone. He was so much fun and he was always happy and making people laugh.

‘He was also very caring and he helped the children at the school a lot. He enjoyed teaching them and they liked him, because he was funny. I’m so sad.’

Paramedics said the wreckage of the small car had to be cut open by emergency workers to reach Mr Miles, who was crushed inside the metal. They said he suffered catastrophic injuries and was declared dead on the roadside.

Officers investigating the death found that a silver Honda CRV driven by school director Dr Kanittha Thonglert, 57, had rammed into the back of the couple’s car when it slowed down to turn into a side road.

The oncoming black Isuzu appeared to have no time to react when Mr Miles and Mr Kanadee were shunted into its path. The other drivers involved in the accident were not seriously hurt.

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CCTV footage shows how driver Tawid Kanadee slowed down to turn right into a side road before they were shunted from behind by a silver Honda CRV

Police Lieutenant Colonel Ronnapong Chorsai, from the Sawang Wirawong Police Station, said: ‘The investigating officer is in the process of gathering evidence to file charges against the people involved who drove recklessly and caused the collisions and death.’

It came just a week after an accident at the same spot. The collision between a truck and a school bus killed one person and injured another.

Thailand has one of the world’s worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools, cheap loans for cars, notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws as well as endemic corruption and chronic under-investment in infrastructure hamper the efforts.