A Japanese businessman was killed and his Thai driver severely injured when their van crashed into a toll booth in Thailand.

Shoichi Hamahata, 56, the president of a steel company in Chonburi province, and his driver Phairoj, 38, were travelling along the Burapha Withi Expressway in Samut Prakan province on the outskirts of Bangkok, on February 16.

However, Phairoj was said to have blacked out at the wheel, causing their Toyota van to slam into an automatic toll booth.

CCTV footage shows the fast-moving vehicle smashing headlong into a concrete pillar, sending debris scattering across the toll gate area.

Police and a rescue team rushed to the scene after receiving a report at around 12:07 pm.

They found the smashed-up Toyota van lying in the middle of the road. Inside the wreckage was the mangled body of Shoichi with his blood spattered on the seats and shattered windscreen.

The driver Phairoj survived the crash with severe injuries. Rescuers cut the van door to extract him before rushing him to a hospital in critical condition.

A police spokesman said: 'We believe the driver might have dozed off because he did not slow down despite approaching the toll gate.

‘We also found a golf bag and a golf course ticket in the back of the vehicle. They may have come from a golf course before the accident occurred.'

He added that Shoichi's body was taken to the Ramachak Green Rubin Institute of Forensic Medicine for a post-mortem exam.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.