4-7-2023 (BANGKOK) Gunmen opened fire on a trailer truck travelling on Asian Highway 41 in tambon Na Bon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, killing the woman driver on Tuesday morning. The woman, Lalinya Kosai, 50 of Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district, was driving with her husband, Susawat Paholayuth, 41, of Sukhothai, who was sleeping in the back recess when the attack occurred. They were transporting a refrigerated container of pasteurized milk from Saraburi to Sadao district of Songkhla, destined for Malaysia. The attackers fired 17 shots, killing Lalinya Kosai and causing the refrigerated trailer truck to stop on the highway. Susawat Paholayuth was standing beside the vehicle in tears, waiting for police to arrive.
The police, rescuers, and medics who were sent to the scene found the 22-wheel trailer truck with the refrigerated container of milk stopped on the road. The driver’s door and window were riddled with bullet holes. Lalinya Kosai was dead at the wheel with multiple gunshot wounds to her head and body.
Police were still searching for a motive for the attack and were examining security camera recordings along the route for clues. Witnesses told police that a pickup truck with two men had been parked alongside the road before the shooting. When the trailer truck drove past, the two men chased after it and pulled up alongside, firing many shots into the driver’s cab. The pickup then sped off after the attack.
Susawat Paholayuth told police that he was woken by the sound of gunshots and heard his wife cry out in pain. She managed to drive away from the scene for another 5 kilometres before she stopped, passed out, and died. He immediately called the police.
