Woman injured by flying steel plate on Samut Prakan expressway

A woman sustained injuries when a large steel plate flew through her windscreen, cutting her neck and cheek on an elevated expressway in Samut Prakan.

The incident took place around 6pm yesterday, July 28, near the 19th-kilometre marker on the Bangkok-bound side of the Burapha Withi (Bang Na-Bang Pakong) expressway in Tambon Bang Chalong, Bangphli district. Police and rescue workers responded promptly to the scene.

Pranee Rungsuksai was found with bleeding injuries to her cheek and neck, her car was parked on Thepharat Road (Bang Na-Trat) beneath the elevated expressway. Rescue workers administered first aid before transporting the 52 year old woman to a nearby hospital.

A hole was discovered in the driver’s side of the windscreen of her white Toyota car. Inside the vehicle, police found a steel plate measuring approximately 13 centimetres by 13 centimetres and 2.5 centimetres thick.

Pranee recounted that she was driving on the elevated expressway to pick up her daughter in Bangkok. Entering the expressway via the Bang Bo toll plaza, she drove in the middle lane, flanked by two pickup trucks.

Suddenly, the steel plate pierced the right side of her windscreen, inflicting cuts on her neck and right cheek. Despite the shock and pain, Pranee managed to remain composed, exit the expressway, make a U-turn, park the car, and wait for assistance.

“I was hurt and shocked. I tried to calm myself and exited the expressway.”

She added that stones had hit her car in the past but she considered herself fortunate that the steel plate did not strike the centre of her face this time.

The authorities are investigating the origins of the steel plate, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, a roadside bomb injured six police officers in southern Thailand. The Internal Security Operations Command’s (ISOC) southern frontline office reported that the blast caused the vehicle to veer off the road and tumble down an embankment, igniting a brush fire in the process.