Raywat Phainiam, 27, was driving his cement truck on Chao Fa West Rd in Wichit yesterday afternoon when he hit a man who had lost control of his motorbike, skidded to the edge of the road and was left lying with his upper body in the traffic lane.
Unsighted, Raywat’s vehicle collided with the man’s head, killing him instantly.
The incident occurred in front of a vehicle repairs shop around 500m southbound of the Darasamut intersection on Chao Fa West Rd in Wichit.
Capt Chatree Chuwichian of the Wichit police said that he was notified of the accident at 3:30pm and, on arrival at the scene, found the cement truck parked, causing a traffic jam. He confirmed the driver had abandoned his vehicle and was not at the scene.
“Near the back left wheel, we found the man’s body lying face down with fatal injuries to his head. There was a significant amount of blood on the ground,” commented Capt Chatree.
“Near the body was a red Honda MSX which later was collected as evidence and taken to Wichit Police.”
It was not confirmed whether the driver of the motorbike was wearing a crash helmet or not.
A female passenger was on the motorbike but only sustained slight injuries to her wrist during the fall and was taken to Dibuk Hospital.
Capt Chatree declined to give the identity or age of the dead man and injured woman.
Fled the scene
Police confirmed Raywat was not at the scene and it took an hour to find him after searching the local area. Raywat had fled the scene in shock, he told police.
“Raywat said he did not see the man while he was driving his truck,” said Capt Chatree.
“He heard a scream, stopped and exited the truck and saw the man’s body on the ground. Then he fled the scene.”
“A witness at the scene reported that the man riding the motorbike had lost control and fell at the edge of road. The truck, which the witness confirmed was driving slowly, ran into the man’s head, killing him instantly.”
He did confirm that at this stage the police have not yet decided which exact charge Raywat will face.
“We have to question the injured woman first, and then we will hopefully have a better understanding as to how the incident happened,” he said.