3 Thai victims injured after 1-tonne traffic sign collapses in Saraburi
A large traffic sign collapsed onto a motorcycle on the Friendship Highway in Saraburi province, leaving three victims in serious injuries. Police suspected that the incident was caused by stolen bolts securing the sign’s support pole.
The accident occurred in the afternoon on Saturday, February 1, along the Friendship Highway in the Pak Phiao sub-district of Saraburi province. Police officers and rescue workers from Sawang Rattanatrai Dhammastan rushed to the scene after receiving reports of a traffic sign collapsing onto passing vehicles.
At the scene, rescue teams found three injured victims, whose identities were not immediately disclosed. The victims included a 17 year old boy who was riding the motorcycle, along with two passengers, a 13 year old girl and a woman estimated to be between 50 and 60 years old.
All three were travelling together on a red-and-white Yamaha Spark motorcycle when they reportedly crashed into the fallen sign.
Authorities said the traffic sign weighed approximately one tonne. The metal support pole was around nine metres high, while the sign itself measured roughly eight metres in width.
Rescue workers told KhaoSod that workers from a nearby road construction site were the first to reach the victims. They assisted by providing initial help and blocking off the road to prevent further accidents while emergency services were on the way.
Rescuers then administered first aid before transferring all three injured victims to Saraburi Hospital for further medical treatment. Their injuries were described as serious.
Police later examined the collapsed structure and discovered that all of the bolts at the base of the traffic sign pole were missing.
Investigators believed the bolts might have been stolen, possibly by thieves intending to sell the metal to a recycling shop. The missing bolts are believed to have caused the sign to become unstable and eventually collapse.
Officers said further investigations would be carried out, including a review of security camera footage in the area, in an effort to identify and arrest those responsible for the suspected theft.
The Saraburi incident is not the first of its kind. In 2022, an overhead traffic sign collapsed onto a car on a highway in Pathum Thani province. Fortunately, both the driver and a passenger escaped without injuries.
In another case in 2023, a backhoe accidentally snagged electrical wires and pulled down a traffic sign along Jomtien Beach Road in Pattaya, knocking down a female motorcyclist. She suffered serious injuries to her hip and arm but was later reported to be in a stable condition under close medical supervision.
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