Bus hits overpass injuring student footballers aboard
A school football team and their coaches were left reeling after their bus met with a shocking accident while transporting them from the Nong Chok district of Bangkok to a field in the Bang Sao Thong district, Samut Prakan. The bus slammed into the top of a motorway overpass, causing the roof to cave in and injuring 13 of the passengers on board.
According to Thai Rath newspaper, the accident occurred around 12.30pm yesterday and the Samut Prakan Rescue Centre was immediately notified. Ruamkatanyu rescuers were also alerted and rushed to the scene to assist. Upon arriving at the accident site, rescuers found that the front of the bus roof had caved in during the collision with the overpass, knocking a row of seats to the floor.
Two of the six coaches travelling with the team of teenage footballers were injured in the accident. The team is made up of 14 year old students and 11 of the 26 on board the bus sustained injuries during the crash. They were sent to the hospital for medical care.
Perhaps too dedicated to the sport, the rest of the football team continued to the field so they could play their game as planned.
The driver of the bus claimed he was only following the directions his GPS had given him and was unfamiliar with the route. He even asked one of the coaches to help him eyeball whether the bus would clear the overpass as it approached. Both men agreed that the large bus could clear the underpass.
But they were wrong. Fortunately, the driver slowed down just in case, as their guesstimate was wrong and the bus scraped and collided with the overpass. The pressure of the collision caused the bus frame to eventually give way and collapse inward onto the front row of chairs.
The driver promptly took the damaged bus back to Nong Chok to begin repair work. Police arriving at the scene found the bus already gone but said they have enough information to take legal action against the driver for the accident.
