Day of danger on Phuket roads

WICHIT, PHUKET: In a chilling reminder about the need to drive safely during the current holiday season, a man on a motorcycle was killed instantly when he was hit by a six-wheeled truck and then pulled under its wheels yesterday afternoon.

The accident occurred at about 1:30 pm near the entrance to Sukko Spa in Tambon Wichit, about 300 meters from the turnoff to Kwang Rd.

By the time police arrived, a large number of onlookers had already gathered around the victim, who was completely ripped in half at the waist by the force of the impact.

His remains came to rest in the middle of Chao Fa West Rd.

The mangled Honda Wave that he had been riding lay about 10 meters away. The victim was later identified as 31-year-old Phai Wutthiya, a native of Buriram’s Nongkee District.

The driver of the truck stopped and then fled on foot into a nearby housing estate. Police have not yet confirmed whether he has been found.

In another accident the same day, the Thai-language newspaper Siangtai Daily reported that a Thai tuk-tuk driver and his five foreign passengers were injured in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck near Phuket Fantasea at about 10:30 pm.

The tuk-tuk driver, 28-year-old Weerayut Moosor, was badly injured and it took rescue workers about 30 minutes using special equipment to remove him from the cab. He suffered multiple broken bones on his left side and deep lacerations. All five of his passengers, an Estonian family on holiday, were rushed to Bangkok Hospital Phuket for treatment.