The man had already stood in the middle of the northbound carriageway causing a long traffic jam. Police arrived, calmed him down and led him off the road.
However, as soon as they left, witnesses said, he ran out into the road again and jumped up onto the bonnet of a pick-up truck. When the owner stepped out to remonstrate with him he immediately jumped down and ran away, into the path of the six-wheeler.
The truck driver abandoned his truck and fled.
The dead man was identified as construction worker Danlao Srikuman, 39, from Nakhon Panom. Acquaintances told police that he was frequently drunk and had tried a number of times to commit suicide by traffic. This time, apparently, he succeeded.