A 77-year-old woman drove a white Mercedes against traffic on Vibhavadi Road, then gave a statement to investigators at Vibhavadi Police Station. She said she was startled and misunderstood the traffic signs. She faces three charges: reckless driving, violating traffic signs, and other offenses. Traffic Inspector Duan revealed police plan to request the court to confiscate the vehicle.
Today (8 Sep 2026) at 14:45 at Vibhavadi Police Station—Vibhavadi Rangsit Traffic Control Center, Mrs. Phayao (the driver who went against traffic on Vibhavadi Road), age 77, arrived with her daughter to give further statements to investigators after driving against traffic on the inbound side of Vibhavadi Road near Lat Phrao Intersection. Mrs. Phayao gave her account of the incident. Upon arrival, she wore dark glasses and a mask to conceal her face and avoided questions from the media. Police then asked her relatives to bring the Mercedes involved to the station for inspection.
Additionally, reporters learned that Mrs. Phayao is a real estate project owner based in the Ratchada area.
At 16:00, Mrs. Phayao's relatives drove the Mercedes involved to Vibhavadi Police Station. Initially, police charged her with three offenses: 1. reckless driving, 2. violating road surface traffic signs, and 3. driving against legally designated directions. Mrs. Phayao was scheduled to be sent to Phra Nakhon Nuea District Court, where tomorrow the court will decide whether to confiscate the vehicle.
Recently, Vibhavadi Police instructed officers to review CCTV footage and found that the Mercedes exited from Central Ladprao shopping mall and proceeded along Horwang Road. It then turned left heading onto Vibhavadi Rangsit Road and continued inbound along the parallel lane until the U-turn point. The Mercedes made the U-turn but at the expressway U-turn intersection, it veered back into the expressway U-turn area and drove against traffic for about 1 kilometer, nearly reaching Bang Khen Intersection.
After completing her statement to investigators, Mrs. Phayao and her daughter left the interrogation room. She declined to speak to the media and immediately left by car.
At one point, Police Lieutenant Colonel Phuchong Maothung, Traffic Inspector at Vibhavadi Police Station, said that from preliminary questioning, it appears the elderly woman misunderstood the traffic signs and became startled. The Mercedes has been seized as evidence in the case. Police will proceed to submit the case to the prosecutor to present to the court for vehicle confiscation consideration.