Jenpop is due to undergo an operation on his knee next week because of an injury caused by the crash. He told police he would be ordained as a monk after he recovers to make merit for his victims, Muang Ayutthaya investigation chief Pol Colonel Ekkarat Ooncharoen said.

Ekkarat said Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong would conduct a check with specialised equipment to try to find out how fast Jenpop’s car was going at the time of the crash.

Deputy chief of the Scientific Crime Detection Centre Pol Colonel Nathapol Samsen said separately he expected police would know the speed that the car had been travelling by next week. Speculation on social media suggests Jenpop was travelling at 250 kmh, but police have only confirmed that it was “over 90kmh”.

Ekkarat said police had spoken to a Rama 4 tollgate official about Jenpop because the driver reportedly hit the gate’s barrier prior to the crash. Police were also checking camera footage taken near the crash scene, he added.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya instructed the Probation Department yesterday to find a solution in regard to the young woman who caused a Bangkok expressway crash that killed nine people in 2010. The woman has been accused of failing to do court-ordered public service over the past three years. Action was needed to stop 100,000 others from copying her example, Paiboon said.

A court is due to rule on her alleged violation on June 21.