A British investment fund manager died in a horrific van crash in Thailand last week, just months after moving to the country to marry his Thai lover.
Bryn Adrian Whalley, 57, from Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, worked at the London Stock Exchange before retiring early and paying a dowry of eight million baht (£183,000) to marry Thanat Worakulritthidamrong, from 47 years old, last year.
But friends said the Briton and his male partner were having marital difficulties and Thanat confirmed this week that they were living separately.
Whalley was driving his pickup truck in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand, around 1 a.m. on October 21 when he reportedly lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a utility pole.
Paramedics arrived to find the modified blue Isuzu with red leather seats severely damaged when it left the road, crashed into the pole and ended up in a ditch.
Whalley was found trapped in the rubble with a serious head injury.
He was freed from the wreckage of his demolished truck and rushed to hospital in critical condition, but succumbed to his injuries just a day later.
Bryn Adrian Whalley, 57, from Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, worked at the London Stock Exchange before taking early retirement and paying a dowry of eight million baht (£183,000) to marry Thanat Worakulritthidamrong.
Paramedics found Whalley’s modified blue Isuzu with red leather seats badly damaged in a ditch on a bend in the road in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand.
The couple is seen at their wedding last year.
Husband Thanat said he had been dating Whalley for about a year before marrying in December 2023 in a Buddhist ceremony.
Husband Thanat said he had been dating Whalley for about a year before marrying in December 2023 in a Buddhist ceremony.
He said: ‘I’m still in shock that Bryn is gone. We had been through a lot together and I loved him. All my dreams came true when we got married. He was a very, very good person.
‘We were living in different houses for the last few months. I never expected it to crash. We will now have a Buddhist funeral ceremony for Bryn.
‘I will not receive any of Bryn’s possessions because we married before it was legally recognized in Thailand. We hoped to do so at some point in the future.
‘We transferred his body from Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital to Wat Kradang Nga temple for funeral rites. In the afternoon there will be a cremation.
“Part of Bryn’s ashes will be scattered in a ceremony and the rest will be sent back to the UK, which is what he wanted.”
The Briton’s friends said he had been visiting Thailand for several years before moving to the country when he retired.
He had reportedly previously been a fund manager on the London Stock Exchange and collected antiques in his spare time.
But she sold her possessions to travel the world and later bought a house for her male partner and her family in a lavish wedding ceremony, where relatives also received cash and gold bars.
Whalley’s close friend Khwanchai Chaiphian, 50, said: “I was abroad when I heard about Bryn’s death from our mutual friends. “I have known him for about 10 years and he married a Thai man in 2023.
‘He and his partner had a house together in Sichon district, but they separated about three or four months ago.
‘Bryn hadn’t worked for a long time. He sold almost everything in the UK before moving to Thailand. He drove when he felt stressed.
“I’m not sure what happened because he drove down that road quite frequently. I was familiar with it. He may have fallen asleep while driving, but we don’t know.
‘He was a very experienced driver and was familiar with the roads. The accident doesn’t make any sense.
‘He was a very friendly, sweet and generous person. He was one of my closest friends.
Thanat, Whalley’s husband, said: “I’m still in shock that Bryn is gone.” We had been through a lot together and I loved him. All my dreams came true when we got married. He was a very, very good person.
Whalley was driving his pickup truck when he allegedly lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a utility pole.
The British man and his partner were going through marital difficulties in recent months and were living separately
Police and ambulance services appear at the scene of the accident on October 21.
Paramedics from the Phetkasem Foundation Rescue Team said they received a report of a serious car accident at 1:14 am.
They arrived at the scene and found the blue van wrecked on the side of the road.
Whalley was inside, alive but bleeding from a serious head wound.
A rescue officer said: “His body and legs were trapped in the vehicle so we were unable to get him out immediately.” We brought cutting equipment to loosen it. It took about 15 minutes.
“We found him unconscious, with a large wound on his head about eight inches long. They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and took him by ambulance to Sichon hospital.
He was later taken to Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital, but doctors were unable to treat him and he succumbed to his injuries at 3:42 pm on October 22.
A nurse said he died of an intracerebral hemorrhage.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Piyawat Chin-Uam from Sichon Police Station said: “There were no signs that the deceased was drunk.
“The nurses said he did not smell of alcohol and the rescue team did not find any alcoholic beverages in his truck. He may have lost control due to reckless driving.
‘His death was confirmed at Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital. We inspected the scene and found traces indicating that the car had left the road. His relatives have been informed.
Thailand has one of the worst road safety records in the world.
Ministers have set a target of reducing deaths from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by 2027.
However, a lack of road safety education in schools, along with notoriously easy driving tests, the police’s inability to enforce road laws, and a chronic lack of investment in infrastructure, appear to hamper efforts.