18-wheel truck crash ignites fire in Samut Prakan, road closed
An 18-wheel trailer truck lost control and collided with four vehicles waiting at a red light, resulting in a fire. The incident occurred at 4.50am today, January 7, on Pu Chao Saming Phrai Road near Wat Mahawong intersection, heading towards Phra Pradaeng pier, in Samrong Klang subdistrict, Phra Pradaeng district, Samut Prakan province.
Upon receiving the report, police from Samrong Tai station, along with two municipal fire trucks from Pu Chao Saming Phrai, municipal rescue personnel from Bang Proeng subdistrict, and Ruam Katanyu Foundation staff, rushed to the scene.
At the location, they found an 18-wheel trailer truck with a Bangkok license plate, its front severely damaged and engulfed in flames. Six gas cylinders were discovered at the back of the truck’s cabin, prompting officials to close the road for safety and redirect traffic to an alternate route on Pu Chao Road.
Firefighters worked diligently to extinguish the blaze, preventing it from reaching the gas cylinders. After over half an hour, the fire was finally brought under control. Nearby, a Toyota pickup truck was found with both its front and rear badly damaged.
Not far from the site, an Isuzu MU-X, also with a Bangkok license plate, was parked on the roadside, with its front and rear damaged. Additionally, a Suzuki sedan, also registered in Bangkok, sustained rear damage and minor front damage. Officials temporarily closed the road to clear the debris before reopening it for use.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that four cars were stopped at the red light when the trailer truck’s driver lost control and crashed into the back of the Toyota pickup truck. This triggered a chain reaction, causing vehicles to crash into each other, including another trailer truck parked ahead. The trailer truck involved in the initial crash caught fire, but the driver managed to escape uninjured.
The 40 year old trailer truck driver, Komchit, stated that he was neither intoxicated nor sleepy, having just woken up. He was en route to Phetchaburi to deliver an empty container.
Although he noticed the vehicles ahead had stopped, his brakes failed, leading to the collision. After the crash, the front windshield shattered and a fire broke out, prompting him to jump from the vehicle.
Den, a 53 year old driver of the Toyota pickup, recounted that he was stopped at the red light when the trailer truck, travelling in the right lane, swerved without braking and hit his vehicle from behind, pushing it into the car in front, reported KhaoSod.
Police documented the scene, took photographs, and made initial records before escorting the trailer truck driver to the station for further interrogation and legal proceedings.
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