Police probe possible negligence after fallen tree kills woman motorcyclist

The Metropolitan Police commissioner Pol Lt-General Sanit Mahathaworn said yesterday that someone must be held responsible for the incident.
“In the civil aspect, police will find if anyone committed negligence. In the criminal aspect, we will investigate the people involved with the tree for clear details,” Sanit said. 
“I can ensure justice for all the parties involved. You can rest assured,” he added.
A woman was killed when a power pole broke after being hit by the falling tree and landed on her motorcycle around 10am yesterday.
The banyan tree was first grown inside an office building’s compound when it was built 20 years ago.
Police said Nitchaphat Somjet, 25, a resident of Bangkok’s Bang Sue district, was riding her motorbike past the spot when the electricity pole snapped. The falling tree had pulled down power cables, causing the pole to break.
The fallen tree also damaged two other motorcycles and two cars near Central Department Store’s Chidlom branch. Police said another motorcyclist was injured in the accident. Traffic in Soi Chidlom, an alley off Sukhumvit Road, was closed for over three hours as a result of the freak accident.
Workers from Pathum Wan District Office were sent to clean up and remove the tree from the street.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha offered his condolences to the victim’s family and instructed the relevant state agencies to provide remedy to them, according to government spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
Morakot Sanitthangkoon, chief of Pathum Wan District Office, which has jurisdiction over the accident area, said yesterday that the district office would become stricter with private tenants in taking more care of large trees within their properties in order to prevent similar accidents in future.