Disabled woman dies after being electrocuted while crossing road

A disabled Thai woman died after being electrocuted when she touched a lamppost on Pathum-Sam Kok Road in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok.

A Thai woman, Yupha Khantapao, reported the death of the victim, 46 year old Wilai Thepsaen, at Sam Kok Police Station. Yupha said she had a grocery shop on the road and witnessed the whole incident. She saw Wilai cross the road and stop at a traffic island in the middle of the road.

Yupha said she then heard Wilai screaming for help and immediately realised that she must have been electrocuted because she had one hand on the lamppost and was screaming. She tried to help Wilai but she lost consciousness and later died at the scene.

Yupha stated that the victim may have been holding on to the lamppost for balance as she had a weak leg.

Yupha said she had just noticed that the lamppost had some bare electrical wire peeking out after the accident. Many students and residents were crossing the road at that point and she was concerned that there might be more victims. She hoped authorities would solve the problem as a matter of urgency before the next incident occurred.

Following the woman’s death, officials from the Pathum Thani-Ladlumkaew Highway Office rushed to the scene to repair the street light. The office’s chief, Thawatchai Lotaka, said the bare wires were the result of electric wire theft.

Thawatchai said the electric wires had been cut and stolen many times on the road. The inner cables of the electric wires touched the metal pole, causing an electric shock to the victim. He said the department would compensate the victim’s family for the loss.

Wilai’s body was taken to the hospital for an autopsy to confirm the cause of her death. The police made no mention of punishing the relevant departments responsible for the electricity system in the area.

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