An Australian man has died after a gang of bikers ran him off the road in Thailand causing him to slam into a lamp post.
Graeme Foster, 59, was riding a Lambretta scooter when ‘five mystery bikers’ chased him on a dark road in Pattaya on January 21 about 11.30pm.
The ex-pat engineer and father-of-two was on the way home after a night out while his Thai wife Kittiyaphon and their daughters were in a car behind him along with a friend who was also on a motorbike.
Mr Foster’s wife, 46, said he picked up speed when the young men on motorbikes swarmed around him on the road, ViralPress reported.
Moments later Mr Foster lost control and crashed into a power pole, and the gang sped away.
Ms Foster found him unconscious with severe injuries and called emergency services.
Medics fought to revive Mr Foster as he had no pulse, several broken ribs and a large wound on his left thigh.
In harrowing video footage, Mr Foster is seen being given CPR as the paramedics desperately tried to save him.
Even after he was placed on a stretcher, a machine continued to perform CPR on him.
But they were unable to revive him and Mr Foster was declared dead at hospital.
‘We ate out with friends and family at a restaurant,’ his wife told the police.
‘When we went home, my husband took his motorcycle while I drove with the kids.
‘I noticed something was wrong when a group of four or five motorcycles chased after him.
‘It looked like they were harassing him. My husband sped up, and we were left behind.
‘I don’t know what they did to my husband, but he lost control and fell.’
The Thaiger publication reported that Mr Foster’s friend said he did not see the crash.
He said the teenagers tried to start a fight with them and chased after them without reason.
Lieutenant Colonel Thithat Trunchan of the Nong Prue Police said: ‘We interviewed the villagers living around the secluded area and some told (the officers) that they heard cursing around the time the incident happened.
‘We will also watch the CCTV to find the other riders involved in the incident,’ he said.
The Pattaya News reported that Ms Foster said her husband had a few drinks at dinner but that he wasn’t drunk.
Nongprue Police found a small amount of marijuana at the scene of the accident.
Locals said two other people have recently died after crashing into the same pole as Mr Foster.
The police reportedly believe road rage was a factor in what happened, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Mr Foster’s LinkedIn profile said he had ‘worked for some of the world’s major corporations including Shell, BP, Mobil, Woodside, Caltex, Ampol, United KG, Worley Parsons, Santos & ConocoPhillips’.
As well as working in Thailand, he had also worked in China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore.
