Police report 18 Burmese workers were injured when they were thrown for the back of a Toyota Vigo pickup truck in Chiang Saen District of Chiang Rai Province. The accident occurred on Highway 1290 in Chiang Saen District.
Pol. Lt. Surakit Wongyai, Deputy Inspector (Investigation), Ban Saeo Police Station in Chiang Saen District told reporters he was notified of an accident in which a pickup truck had lost control and hit the median strip, resulting in multiple injuries.
Police officers were dispatched the scene of the accident along with doctors from Chiang Saen Hospital, the Siam Ruam Jai (Pu In) Rescue Unit and the Wiang Pha Ngao Chiang Saen Rescue Unit.
Upon arriving at the accident scene they found a gray Toyota Vigo pickup truck with Chiang Rai license plates that had lost control and was parked in the right lane. The front of the car was on the median strip, with visible damage from the collision.
Pol. Lt. Surakit Wongyai said 18 people were injured, including the driver, identified as Mr. Min So, 50, from Wiang Subdistrict, Chiang Saen District of Chiang Rai Province.
From the initial questioning of Mr. Min So, he stated that he had driven the vehicle involved in the accident, loaded with workers, from Ban Saeo Subdistrict, and was heading to his residence in Chiang Saen District.
When he came upon a winding curve, he came upon a motorcycle driving the wrong way in the left lane. He was shocked and turned right to avoid the motorcycle causing his vehicle to lose control and hit the median strip.
The passenger in the back of the pickup fell out of the vehicle and were injured. He and a passenger in the front of the vehicle were also injured, but no deaths were reported.
The police officers photographed the scene, and contacted a private towing vehicle to take the vehicle to Ban Saeo Police Station for further investigation. Mr. Min So and the injured Myanmar migrant workers were taken to Chiang Saen Hospital and treated for their injuries.
Wrong way driving (Ghost Riders) in Thailand is quite common over the last five years, 498 wrong way driver crashes have been recorded with 80 % of these involving motorcycles. Accidents occur when a driver intentionally or unintentionally travels in a direction that is opposite to the traffic flow.
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