Police say slippery road conditions appeared to have been a factor in the road accident on Koh Samui that killed 25-year-old Australian sprinter Jemma Stapleton, who was on a family holiday.
The accident occurred at 3.45pm on Wednesday on a curve along Highway 4169 in tambon Bo Put on the tourist island in the southern province of Surat Thani.
The crash involved three vehicles, Surat Thani provincial police chief Pol Maj Gen Suwat Suksri said on Saturday. Steady rain was falling at the time.
At the scene, police found a black Subaru stopped in the middle of the road, facing Chaweng Beach. The driver was identified as a 38-year-old Russian man.
Stapleton’s body was found beneath the Subaru’s front passenger-side wheel. She had been riding a motorcycle before the crash.
A Honda City, driven by a 27-year-old Thai woman, was also at the scene.
Police on Saturday released CCTV video that captured the moments leading to the fatal crash. It showed Stapleton’s motorcycle losing traction and falling before sliding into the opposite lane while an oncoming car was approaching, causing a violent collision with the rider, police said.
Her body was thrown more than 20 metres along the road, while the motorcycle slid to a halt in front of another vehicle travelling behind the first car.
A preliminary examination by Koh Samui Hospital found severe head lacerations and bruising on her body. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police were told that Stapleton had been riding ahead of family members, who were travelling behind on other motorcycles. Investigators believe the wet road surface and slippery conditions contributed to the accident.
The promising sprinter from Melbourne began her athletics career at a young age and rose through the ranks of Victorian athletics before becoming a finalist in the Stawell Gift, Australia’s oldest and richest professional footrace.
Stapleton celebrated her 25th birthday on June 1, less than two weeks before the fatal crash.
A GoFundMe page was set up for Stapleton’s family to help bring her body home and ease financial pressure on the family. It closed after raising more than $100,000 in less than 24 hours.
