A dented silver Ferrari, a dead Thai policeman whose body was dragged for 200 meters under its wheels, a family driver ready to take the fall for the wealthy 27-year-old heir to the world-famous Red Bull energy drink empire.
The grandson of the creator of the Red Bull energy drink has been arrested for allegedly hitting a police officer with his Ferrari and then dragging his body down a Bangkok street, police said Monday. Police took Vorayuth Yoovidhya, 27, in for questioning in the officer's death after tracing oil streaks for several blocks to his family's gated estate in a wealthy neighborhood of the Thai capital.
In the Thai case, the police officer, who was on his motorcycle, was hit by the Ferrari and his bike was dragged by the car 90 meters (295 feet) after his body hit the windshield and fell on the road, before the alleged driver sped away to his residence not far from the scene, police Lt. Col. Viradol Thubthimdee, who is responsible for the case
The victim, Sgt. Maj. Wichean Glanprasert, was 47.
Vorayuth admitted he drove the charcoal gray sports car but said the police officer's motorcycle abruptly cut in front of his vehicle, said police lead investigator.
Bangkok's top police official, Lt. Gen. C Toopgrajank, said he took over the investigation after a lower-ranking policeman initially tried to cover up the crime by turning in a bogus suspect.
Comronwit led a team of officers to search the compound of late Red Bull founder C Yoovidhya, who was one of Thailand's wealthiest men before he passed away this year. Police confiscated a Ferrari with a badly damaged front bumper and broken windshield
The Yoovidhya family was ranked the fourth richest in Thailand this year by Forbes magazine, with a net worth of $5.4 billion. The Red Bull creator C Yoovidhya died in March, leaving his heirs a wide range of businesses, including the globally popular energy drink, hospitals and real estate.
The family also co-owns the sole authorized importer of Ferrari cars in Thailand.
Similarly, underage driver Orachorn Thephasadin na Ayudhya, was given a suspended two-year prison sentence on Friday for causing the deaths of nine people in 2010 when the car she was driving collided with a passenger van.
That case caused outrage on social media over how a young girl with an aristocratic family name managed to escape jail and emerged with only a seven-year driving ban.
info and photo from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/us-thailand-justice-idUSBRE8830EM20120904 and http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57506807-504083/red-bull-founders-grandson-arrested-for-allegedly-killing-thai-officer-in-ferrari-hit-and-run/ and http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443819404577632872864023962.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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