Flying truck wheel strikes car and injures doctor in Udon Thani
Driver unaware of missing wheel until police found him 15km from scene
A Thai female doctor sustained minor injuries after a wheel detached from a truck and struck her car on a road in the Isaan province of Udon Thani yesterday, June 12.
Officers from Mueang Udon Thani Police Station coordinated with a rescue team to assist the 44 year old doctor, identified only as Eng, on the Friendship Highway. Eng told police that the wheel from a truck hit her electric car, but the truck driver failed to stop at the scene.
Police reported that the right side of Eng’s vehicle was damaged, and she suffered injuries to her chest and arm. The detached wheel later rolled into the opposite traffic lane.
Eng later told Siam Rath that she had just finished work at a hospital and was driving to pick up her child from school. She saw the wheel approaching and attempted to avoid it, but was unsuccessful. She tried to locate the truck involved but saw none stopped nearby.
Traffic police eventually located the truck at a weighing station 15 kilometres from the scene. The driver was identified as Surachai.
Surachai claimed he did not realise a wheel had come off and continued driving until reaching the weighing station. He insisted he had no intention of evading responsibility and would have stopped immediately had he known about the accident.
Police have not yet confirmed the legal consequences Surachai may face or the compensation sought by the victim.
On the same day, a similar incident occurred in Khao Chakan district, Sa Kaeo province. In that case, a wheel from a 10-wheel lorry detached and struck a sidecar motorcycle parked outside a local grocery shop.
An elderly Thai man in a wheelchair, who was sitting nearby, narrowly avoided being hit. No injuries were reported, though witnesses were shaken by the unexpected incident.
In December last year, a truck wheel struck a Thai delivery rider while he was riding on a road in Chon Buri, leaving him in critical condition.
The truck driver claimed he did not realise the wheel was missing and continued driving. He insisted that he checked all the wheels that morning before setting off and found no issues.
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