The driver of the pickup truck suffered only minor injuries after crashing the wrecked pickup outside of Phuket Bird Paradise in Chalong.
Chalong Police received a report of the accident on Soi Yod Sanae at 8:40am today (Aug 4).
Police officers arrived at the scene with rescue workers to find what was originally a dark grey coloured Mazda pickup truck full of banana crashed into a taxi stand and advertisement board for Phuket Bird Paradise.
The pickup truck had come to rest against a corrugated tin fence with the back wheel and axle totally twisted out of position. Another wheel was found 15 metres down the road and bananas were scattered around the area.
The pickup truck driver, Mr Thanchanok Sangmuang, 57, from Surat Thani had suffered a minor head injures and said he had blurred vision.
He was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital.
Mr Thanchanok said, “I had delivered bananas to an elephant camp on Phra Yai Hill in Soi Yoi Sanae and was heading back down the hill when the brakes failed.
“My vehicle was going down the hill very fast so I changed down to a low gear. I still could not control the vehicle as the weight of banana was too heavy,” he said.
“I came to the curve where the accident occurred and tried to turn the steering wheel to avoid hitting a pylon. I then tried to turn the other way and crashed into the taxi stand.
“It was very lucky that no other vehicles were near me,” he added.
“I believe that I survived this crash because I thought quickly and did not panic when I found the brakes had failed. I immediately thought of how to avoid a serious collision.
“I also had a sacred amulet that my son gave to me. These two things helped me survive the accident.”