Huge truck crushes young motorcyclist to death in Chon Buri

A huge truck tragically crushed a young motorcyclist to death in Chon Buri’s main city district yesterday. The incident happened on a road under a motorway in the Don Hua Lor sub-district.

The victim, 20 year old Phatthames Sriraksa, who is originally from Sisaket province, had been driving home from work. Rescuers arrived on the scene to find Phattames’s body with several bone fractures. The rescuers brought his body to a hospital for funeral arrangements.

The 18-wheeler truck’s driver, 43 year old Yan Leabloy, told police that Phatthames was driving fast and lost control of his motorcycle while navigating a curve. He said Phatthames then slid under his truck. It was unclear if any legal charges would be filed against Yan.

This tragedy comes just days after another fatal accident in Chonburi, in which a female factory worker was crushed to death by a truck while heading home from work on her motorcycle. The incident happened in the Sri Racha district.

The victim, 24 year old Wannapa Kabil, was found dead beneath the six-wheeler truck, which did not have a license plate, The Pattaya News reported.

Wannapa’s colleague, Somsri, told rescuers that Wannapa’s motorcycle accidentally tripped over a pothole and fell. The truck beside her then ran over the victim and instantly killed her. Rescuers said Wannapa’s head was severely wounded.

In October there was yet another fatal incident in Chon Buri involving a truck killing a motorcyclist. The young woman, also a factory worker, was killed in a hit-and-run in the Sri Racha district.

A six-wheel truck crashed into a motorbike, crushing 32 year old Saithan Hongthong to death. The incident happened on Map Iang-Laem Chabang Road.

Thailand’s roads are notoriously deadly. Thailand was ranked the second most dangerous country to drive in according to a driver’s educational platform. There were 21,052 accidents in 2020, and 11,138 accidents in 2021. About 20% of accidents involved motorcycles, while 8% involved six-wheel trucks, and 8% involved trucks with at least 10 wheels. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha this year announced a major goal of cutting the number of road deaths by almost two-thirds by 2027.