Red Bull Heir Arrested; Hit-And-Run Photos and Video Prove Yoovidhya's Guilt?
Vorayuth Yoovidhya Accused of Hitting Police Officer, Dragging Him With Ferrari
Raw video footage, along with crime scene photos, has been released in connection to the alleged hit-and-run of a Bangkok police officer by Vorayuth Yoovidhya, heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune.
The video, released by The Associated Press, shows Yoovidhya being escorted into the Bangkok police station for questioning, as well as shocking footage of the deceased police officer's bloodied uniform and Yoovidhya's damaged grey Ferrari, which is suspected to have been involved in the accident.
One additional photo released by Thai newspaper The Nation shows detectives lining up the officer's motorcycle, which he was riding at the time of the accident, to Yoovidhya's dented Ferrari to reveal an exact fit between the motorcycle's back and the Ferrari's front bumper.
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According to police reports, the grandson of the energy drink creator hit Sgt. Maj. Wichean Glanprasert, 47, with his grey Ferrari in the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 3, reportedly dragging the police officer 330 feet after hitting him.
Yoovidhya, 27, admitted to police that Glanprasert, while on his motorcycle, had cut in front of his Ferrari. The multi-billion dollar heir failed to tell police that he allegedly dragged the officer hundreds of feet at high speeds.
Police traced oil marks left by the Ferrari to Yoovidhya's gated Bangkok estate. Inside the gate, authorities discovered the grey Ferrari with a broken windshield and a dented front bumper.
"We traced the gasoline trail which leaked onto the road until it led us to the house with the Ferrari," Lt. Col. Viradol Thubthimdee of Thonglor police station told Agence France-Presse, as previously reported by The Christian Post.
Comronwit Toopgrajank, the senior official of Bangkok's police department, reportedly took over the investigation after learning that a lower-ranked commander, Lt-Col Pannapon Nammuang, tried to cover up the case by arresting the wrong suspect.
Media reports suspect the attempted cover-up was done due to Yoovidhya's powerful, wealthy family.
"A policeman is dead. I can't let this stand. If I let this case get away, I'd rather quit. I don't care how powerful they are. If I can't get the actual man in this case, I will resign," Toopgrajank told reporters, according to Fan Daily newswire.
Vorayuth Yoovidhya's grandfather, Chaleo Yoovidhya, created the energy drink Red Bull in the 1980s with Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz. The Yoovidhyas have since become one of Thailand's wealthiest families, boasting a net worth of $5.4 billion.
Yoovidhya has been charged with causing a death with negligence, and faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years if found guilty.
