Good Samaritan’s warnings go unheard before fatal overpass collapse
Dump truck with a raised bed slammed into a Bang Na-Trat overpass, causing a collapse that killed a pickup driver. Witnesses tried to warn driver by honking for 200 meters, but signals went unnoticed before fatal impact
- A dump truck with its bed raised struck an overpass, causing a large beam to break and fall onto the roadway.
- Other drivers witnessed the raised truck bed and repeatedly honked their horns to warn the driver, but the warnings were not heard.
- The collision caused the overpass beam to crush a pickup truck, killing its driver, and to injure the driver of the dump truck.
The Bangpleenoi Police Station received a report on Thursday (December 18) of an overpass collapse, which fell onto vehicles, resulting in injuries and fatalities.
The incident occurred on the Bang Na-Trat expressway inbound to Bangkok, at kilometre 34, in the Bangpleenoi subdistrict, Bang Bo district, Samut Prakan province.
Authorities, along with volunteers from Poh Teck Tung Foundation, arrived at the scene with hydraulic tools and two large cranes to assist.
At the scene, they found that the overpass had broken and fallen on a dump truck carrying soil and a pickup truck loaded with eggs.
This led to one fatality, identified as Sangwian, 59, the driver of the egg pickup truck, whose cab was crushed flat by the fallen beam.
The deceased was trapped inside the wreckage.
The driver of the dump truck, Leuchai, 65, was injured and pinned inside the vehicle's cabin by the overpass beam.
Rescue teams used the crane to lift the beam off before cutting open the wreckage to free the victim.
It took over two hours to extract him and rush him to a nearby hospital.
Surveillance footage from nearby cameras revealed that the 18-wheel dump truck had raised its bed while driving in the left lane before colliding with the overpass structure.
This caused the beam to snap and fall onto both vehicles.
A motorcycle taxi driver, Cherdchai, a witness, reported that as the dump truck raised its bed, drivers behind honked repeatedly to warn the truck driver, but the driver did not hear them.
Approximately 200 metres down the road, the collision occurred, causing the overpass to collapse.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) issued an urgent notice advising the public to avoid the area.
They closed the inbound lane of the Bang Na-Trat road at kilometre 34+500, in Bangpleenoi, due to the overpass collapse.
Drivers were advised to use an alternative route along the parallel road at kilometre 35+200.
The authorities expect it will take approximately three hours to clear the scene and reopen the road.
The authorities are conducting a thorough inspection of the overpass structure and collecting evidence for legal proceedings.
