Chiang Rai crash kills 2, injures 13

A crash in northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province killed two people and injured 13. The accident occurred on No. 1020 (Chiang Rai Terng) Road in the Baan Pong Chang in Chieng Kean sub-district on Tuesday night at around 7.20pm.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene to find several damaged minivans and pickup trucks. The responders found a 14 year old girl died at the scene. An unidentified pickup truck driver believed to be around 60 years old, was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after the accident.

Meanwhile, 13 people suffered various injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, The Pattaya News reported.

Witnesses told police that the pickup truck driver lost control before colliding with a minivan in the opposite lane. The Terng Police have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident

The incident is the latest of Thailand’s notorious road tragedies.

The ThaiRSC reported in January that as many as 939,713 road accidents were reported in Thailand last year, up 4.7% from 2021. Road accidents killed 14,737 people, and injured 924,799 last year, ThaiRSC said. The committee reported that 536 deaths and 7,885 injuries were among foreigners.

Following the Songkran holiday this year, during the ‘seven deadly days‘ from April 11 to 17, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) revealed that there were 2,203 road accidents, 2,208 injuries, and 264 deaths during this period. Bangkok recorded the highest number of fatalities with 22 deaths. Chiang Rai had the highest number of accidents with 68, while Nakhon Si Thammarat recorded the highest number of injuries with 70.