The accident occurred on a curve on Thepkrasattri Rd near Tha Ruea Shrine in Koh Kaew where a Chang beer delivery crashed at about 2:30am last Wednesday (July 5). (See story here.)
Police and rescue workers were called to the scene at 4:45am.
Capt Warawutti Saenseb of the Thalang Police and fellow officers arrived to find a white six-wheeled Isuzu truck used for delivering Super Cheap goods in the middle of the road after an apparent collision with a shrimp delivery pickup truck, also in the centre of the road.
Both vehicles had sustained heavy damage to their front ends.
The driver of the Super Cheap truck, 26-year-old Myanmar national Soe Paine, and the driver of the crumpled pickup truck, Kritthapas Detpichai, 25, escaped serious injuries in the collision.
Nearby was a Bangkok-registered Toyota Vigo pickup truck on its side after it had smashed into a concrete wall built to protect local residents’ homes from inbound high-speed vehicles.
The driver of that pickup truck, Panomkorn Boonpat, 39, also escaped serious injuries.
According to the police preliminary investigation report, Mr Soe Paine lost control of the six-wheeled truck and came to a halt in the middle of the road.
Mr Phanomkorn, who was heading to Chalong from Chumphon, tried to swerve to avoid the six-wheeled truck, but apparently saw the truck too late “due to poor lighting” and clipped it, sending his pickup flying into the wall built to protect residents’ homes.
Then along came Mr Kritthapas, who police noted was driving “at speed” on his way to Rawai to pick up prawns. His pickup also crunched into the six-wheeled truck, but came to rest in the middle of the road.
Police reported they had yet to conclude their investigation and had yet to press charges.
However, police did confirm that although Mr Soe Paine is a legally registered worker, he does not have a driver’s license and will be charged accordingly.
One local resident, who asked not to be named, told The Phuket News that the curve had become a blackspot for high-speed accidents.
“As best as I can remember, the power poles in front of our homes have been replaced 11 times because of cars crashing into them,” he said.
“It happens frequently. The Department of Highways does not really care, even the road barriers (guardrails) are not fully secured.
“It makes me want to speak out and request that something be done, because the other residents in the area are worried about this too,” he added.