5 die as pickup truck slams into trailer truck in driving rain
A pickup truck slammed into an 18-wheel trailer truck during torrential rainfall in Chachoengsao province yesterday afternoon (May 17) killing five people with four of them being Cambodians, Matichon newspaper said today.
Phanom Sarakham district police station were alerted of the accident on Highway number 331 heading for Sattahip and quickly sent rescue volunteers to the scene.
Amid driving rain the volunteers cut open the pickup truck which had jammed into the rear of the trailer truck to bring out the five dead bodies with the Thai man being Pongpat Natthaporn, 28, from Chachoengsao’s Bang Pakong district who died at the wheel with the other four being two Cambodian men and two Cambodian women without identification papers.
Three injured people, Ms Net, 34, Ms Keng, 22, and two-year-old boy Detch. were rushed to the hospital.
The driver of the 18-wheel trailer truck registered in Ubon Ratchathani Chirawat Phukrongthong, 39, told police that it was it was raining heavily and he suddenly heard a loud sound from the rear of the truck so parked it and came out and saw that a pickup truck had slammed into his vehicle so called for help.
Police suspect that the accident either occurred because of slippery road and poor visibility poor because of the torrential rain or that the pickup truck driver was sleepy and had dozed off.
However they will be questioning the injured survivors to ascertain what actually happened.
Meanwhile the Thai Meteorological Department warned people across nation to beware of heavy rain during May 17-19 because an active low pressure over Myanmar is expected to move to the western half of the North and Central regions.
At the same time the southwest monsoon prevailing over the Andaman Sea will strengthen and waves here will be two to three meters high.
However during May 20-23 the monsoon across the Andaman Sea will turn moderate leading to less rain in the North while isolated showers will continue in the South. Andaman Sea waves will also weaken.
Bangkok will face fairly widespread rain with isolated heavy showers during May 17- 19 but during May 20-23 there will be scattered thunderstorms.
Minimum temperature is 25-26 °C and maximum temperature 32-36 °C while southwesterly wind is 15-30 kilometers an hour.
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Top: The badly smashed up pickup which slammed into a trailer truck in Chacheongsao province yesterday. Photo: Matichon
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