Soi Wat Boon Samphan, Nongprue, Chonburi
A hit-and-run the neighbourhood refused to let go
By Genext Information Systems Staff
Published 23 September 2026 • 5 min read
The latest Pattaya news out of Chonburi province did not start with a bar brawl or a break-in. It started with the sound of a white Honda Accord folding a motorcycle sidecar into the front of a neighbourhood grocery store. Police say the driver, identified only as Ms. Nitaya, 35, then reversed away from the wreckage and drove off without stopping to check on anyone she had hit — a decision that, on Soi Wat Boon Samphan on Friday night, earned her a three-kilometre chase and an audience of furious neighbours who were not willing to let her simply disappear.
It is the kind of Pattaya news story that never makes it onto a postcard: no beach, no bar strip, just a residential soi, a smashed shopfront, and a community that decided chasing down the getaway car was its job too.
What police say happened on Soi Wat Boon Samphan
The crash happened in Khao Noi, a residential and commercial pocket of Nongprue subdistrict a short drive inland from central Pattaya. According to Nong Prue police, the sedan first struck a parked motorcycle sidecar with enough force to send it crashing into the front of a grocery store, scattering shelves of goods and damaging a neighbouring cannabis shop as well. Rather than stop, the driver continued on and struck a passing motorcyclist, who was seriously injured in the collision.
Instead of pulling over, police say the driver put the car into reverse, backed away from the scene, and drove off. That is when the chase began. The store’s owner, 57-year-old Sangkhom Saramano, and a group of nearby residents and shopkeepers followed the fleeing sedan for more than three kilometres through Nongprue’s side streets, refusing to lose sight of it. They finally blocked the car in near Soi Thung Klom–Talanman 14 and held the driver there until officers arrived.
When police searched the vehicle, they found an opened bottle of beer inside. The driver appeared intoxicated and declined to answer questions at the scene. She was taken to Nong Prue Police Station, where she underwent a breath-alcohol test. Police Lt. Col. Kittipoj Iamprapai, deputy inquiry officer at the station, said the case is being built around the results of that test, the condition of the injured motorcyclist, and formal statements from witnesses who took part in the chase.
The week in Pattaya news
- 19 Sep — Sedan hits sidecar, grocery store and a motorcyclist in Nongprue
- 19 Sep — Driver flees, chased three kilometres by residents
- 19 Sep — Detained near Soi Thung Klom–Talanman 14, held for police
- Ongoing — Breath test and charges pending at Nong Prue Police Station
Another entry in Pattaya’s run of road-safety headlines
This is not the first time Pattaya news has led with a driver who would not stop. In August, a foreign tourist on a rented motorbike collided with a parked police vehicle in a chaotic crosswalk incident that made headlines of its own. Both stories point to the same underlying problem: a stretch of the Eastern Seaboard that carries heavy scooter and sidecar traffic through narrow residential sois, mixed in with visitors unfamiliar with the roads and, all too often, drivers who have been drinking.
Thailand consistently ranks among the countries with the highest road death tolls in the world, and Chonburi province — anchored by Pattaya’s nightlife economy — is no exception. What made Friday night different was not the crash itself but the response: rather than wait for traffic police to run down a fleeing vehicle, ordinary residents did it themselves. It is a pattern ThaiThuk has now seen more than once in Pattaya news coverage this year — communities stepping in when a driver tries to leave the scene.
What this means if you’re living in Thailand or just visiting
Nothing about Friday night’s crash touches the Pattaya that most visitors actually see. This was a residential soi well away from the beachfront, and it changes nothing about the city’s usual list of things to do in Pattaya — the Sanctuary of Truth, the ferry out to Koh Larn, the seafood stalls along Jomtien and the nightlife strip on Walking Street are all exactly as they were on Thursday.
What is worth taking from this story, if you are driving or riding anywhere in Thailand, is the basic caution locals already live by: do not get behind the wheel after drinking, and if you are hit or you witness a crash, stay at the scene rather than compounding one bad decision with another. That applies whether you are a long-term resident on a Thailand visa or a tourist who landed this morning.
For anyone planning an actual trip rather than following the news, none of this changes the fundamentals of a good Thailand travel guide. The cool, dry months from November to February remain the best time to visit Thailand for most travellers, Pattaya and Bangkok both reward a properly planned itinerary over a wing-it approach, and a week built around street-stall Thai food, a boat out to the Thailand islands and one of the country’s Thai festivals is still one of the best-value trips in Southeast Asia on a budget travel Thailand plan. The same night markets that fill up with Bangkok food stalls every evening are exactly what keeps people coming back to living in Thailand year after year.
What the driver could be charged with
Because the accused is a Thai national with no immigration status at stake, this case will move through Thailand’s ordinary criminal courts rather than the deportation route used in cases involving foreign fugitives. Driving under the influence, causing injury through a reckless or negligent act, and leaving the scene of an accident are each separate offences under Thai law, and prosecutors typically pursue all three together when a driver flees after a crash that injures someone. The exact charges will depend on the breath-test result and how seriously the injured motorcyclist was hurt.
Thai law treats fleeing the scene of an injury crash as an aggravating factor rather than a way to avoid responsibility, and courts have shown little patience for it in similar cases in Chonburi in recent years. If convicted, penalties can include a prison sentence, a fine and a lengthy driving ban — on top of any civil claim for damages the shop owner or the injured motorcyclist may pursue separately.
What happens next
Two things will determine how serious the final charges are: how the injured motorcyclist recovers, and what the breath-alcohol test showed. Nong Prue police say the investigation is continuing and that formal charges will follow once those results are confirmed.
For now, the practical outcome is a familiar one in Pattaya news coverage this year: a smashed shopfront, one injured rider, and a driver who did not get away with driving off. ThaiThuk will update this report as the case moves forward.
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Written by
Genext Information Systems Staff
ThaiThuk’s editorial team at Genext Information Systems — writers and long-term residents based in Thailand who report from the ground on Thai culture, travel, food and community. Every piece is checked against primary sources and updated as details change. More about ThaiThuk →
Sources
- The Pattaya News — “Woman, 35, Crashes Sedan Into Pattaya Grocery Store and Sidecar, Then Hits Motorcyclist; Chased 3 Kilometers Before Being Captured, Open Beer Found in Car”, 21 September 2026, for all details of the crash, the chase and the arrest.
Note on photographs: the image on this page is a general file photograph of the Pattaya coastline from ThaiThuk’s own library, used for illustration only — it is not a photograph of the crash scene, which ThaiThuk was unable to license for republication from the original reporting outlet. No AI-generated imagery is used. Note on detail: Ms. Nitaya has not been convicted of any offence and is entitled to the presumption of innocence; the allegations described are those made by police. Nothing here is legal advice. This report will be updated as verified information emerges.