“Teo has been hit, and I think it’s serious.” It was the phone message Munmanee Phukhang (42) received from her then-boyfriend, Morten Frog, almost nine years ago. Her son was just crossing the road. But 18-year-old Teo – with his life ahead of him – didn’t come any further. – I knew it was over, says Munmanee about the phone call she received at the time. The look and the words hang still in the air. Then she repeats: – I knew he was no more. Finished. That he was dead. One car stopped, the other did not Tuesday 21 October 2014. Ordinary autumn afternoon. Drizzle, dark, chilly. Just minutes before the street lights automatically switch on at 6 p.m., two friends cross the pedestrian crossing over the E16 on Sollihøgda on the border between Bærum and Hole municipality. There is a 60 zone on the site. The pedestrian crossing is located on a slight hilltop. Natthaphon Teo Phukhang goes first. The friend just behind. Teo’s 18th birthday, barely two months before the accident. Photo: Private There is a car coming from the south and a car from the north. One stops for the young men. Drivers of cars from the south do not see those crossing. – He landed over here, says Munmanee and points to the road a good distance away. According to the police report, Teo is hit by the left side of the car. He is thrown against the windscreen and thrown 12 meters away. Horrified, the friend witnesses the accident. – It hurts to be here, Munmanee remarks after lighting a candle and laying flowers on the spot. In this footpath on Sollihøgda, Teo was hit. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news Munmanee Phukhang shows where the son landed after the collision. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news Back to lay flowers and light candles at the scene of the accident. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news Accident road E16 In the period 2012–2021, there have been 118 personal injury accidents in which 6 people were killed and 29 seriously injured on the E16 stretch between Sandvika and Hønefoss. This is shown by figures from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. – The stretch through Hole municipality has the highest number of personal injury accidents in total and also the highest number of accidents in terms of seriously injured and killed people, says Roar Olsen at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The worst accidents have occurred in Hole municipality. Photo: The Swedish Road Administration – Very burdensome The Swedish Road Administration presented on Monday a new priority for future development projects on the national road network. The stretch E16 between Sandvika and Hønefoss is not on the list. Mayor Syver Leivestad (H) in Hole municipality is upset that the road is not being prioritized. – Something must be done. It is serious. This affects the local population, he says. The stretch between Skaret and Hønefoss was also scrapped in last year’s state budget. – In two years, the road to Skaret will be finished. If no money is allocated in the state budget in 2024, the planned four-lane road will end there. It’s pointless! The traffic is all Texas. Seven Leivestad. Photo: Jarran Flokkmann He says they must have a completely new road, “it must be widened, have middle parts”. – The road to Skaret will be completed in two years. If money is not allocated, it means that the planned four-lane road from Sandvika to Hønefoss ends at Skaret. Absolutely hopeless. Then the cars will come driving at 110 kilometers an hour and straight on a ferist, a 70-zone two-lane motorway. Fellow mayor Kirsten Orebråten in the neighboring municipality of Ringerike agrees: – The accidents have been very stressful, and we are thinking of the relatives who are left behind. I think it is arrogant of the ministry not to think a little differently. Now something must be done about the road. Kirsten Orebråten, mayor of Ringerike municipality. Photo: Ringerike municipality State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications Tom Kalsås (Ap) says there is a need for further measures on the Skaret – Hønefoss section to contribute to fewer serious accidents. – This is a two-lane country road with no centerline and with a high ÅDT and which generally has a high risk of serious traffic accidents. It is therefore unfortunately not entirely unexpected that many serious traffic accidents occur on this road. He adds that the Ringeriksbanen and the E16 Skaret – Hønefoss will be continued as a joint project – and that the project will be assessed in connection with the National Transport Plan. On Monday it became clear – the stretch is not part of the priority list. Tom Kalsås, State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport. Photo: Ingvald Nordmark The conversation with a handshake Morten Frog, formerly Teo’s stepfather, lived close to the accident site when the incident took place. – I had a feeling that something had happened and got into the car and drove, he says. The shock was great when he realized it was Teo who was lying on the ground. “If you hear me, squeeze my hand,” says Morten to Teo while they wait for an ambulance. – I understood that it was a mental activity and told Teo that this should go well, we will soon be at the hospital. I understood that he was frustrated and scared. Then I asked Teo if it was okay for me to park the car to join him in the ambulance. “Hug me twice for yes,” Morten asked. The response was two hard taps, says Frog. On the way to Ullevål, Morten Munmanee calls home at Hønefoss. – I was in the kitchen when he called. I just cried and remember almost nothing from that day, she says. At the hospital, Teo is put into an artificial coma, and Morten receives the message: The bleeding in the head is so severe that they cannot see the site of the injury. – For that reason, the doctors did not dare to go in and drain to reduce the pressure, explains Morten. Munmanee and ex-mother-in-law and “grandmother” Ingelin Hagen, who received the news of death at the sickbed, soon traveled to Ullevål. – Of course, we were in shock, but in such situations I remain completely calm. Munmanee, on the other hand, shut down completely, poor thing, she says. Munmanee Phukhang and Ingelin Hagen. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news In a state of inconsolable grief, the mother goes in and out of the hospital room where her son is intubated. – I cry and hold Teo’s hand when the doctor comes in and gives me the message. But she already knew that. That there was no hope. Yet the words hit with relentless force. “Your son, Teo, is dead.” Mother received the message from the doctors while holding her son’s hand. Photo: Privat Together in grief The driver who drove Teo, a man in his 60s, had his driving license confiscated. One year later, he was acquitted of negligent homicide. “It was raining and dark when the accident happened, and the court believes that the driver was probably blinded by an oncoming car.” – We understand that it was an accident, but it feels so unfair, says Ingelin. Munmanee nods. For the first year after the accident, she was unable to see pictures of her son. It only made everything worse and the crying could become unstoppable. – I couldn’t work. Just sleep. Cry. The worst thoughts eventually gave way. Many thanks to “grandmother” Ingelin who pulled her out of the bubble and into things. A great and dignified funeral. Photo: Private – We have always had a close relationship. But it is clear, this ties us together. Now she is also married to my friend’s son, says Ingelin and lets out a redemptive laugh. “Lives on” in others When the family was gathered at the hospital, the question of organ donation came up. Munmanee consented when the doctors asked her. – Teo saved six people with, among other things, their lungs, heart and kidneys. That’s pretty great, then. Life goes on, after all. Isn’t it both nice and strange, asks Ingelin subtly as his mouth turns into a crooked smile. Mother finds it painful to be back at the place where her son died. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news – How does it feel today, Munmanee? – It’s good to think about. Teo has helped others. If they hadn’t gotten the organs, they might have died. Munmanee and Ingelin are on the same wavelength as the rest of the residents of Hole and Ringerike. They have waited long enough. – Something must be done about the road. Otherwise, more people will lose their lives. Together in grief. Photo: Henning Rønhovde / news
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His son Teo was hit and killed on the E16: – Now something must be done about the road
