NAKHON SI THAMMARAT — Five people died after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck and run over by an 18-wheel truck in Muang district on Monday evening, police said.
The accident occurred on Nakhon Si-Hua Sai Road at Moo 6 village in tambon Tha Rua around 6pm as the truck carrying 11 people in the back drove out of a side street into the inbound lane.
Police assumed the driver may have cut in front of another vehicle while entering the highway near a U-turn. He then tried to avoid a collision, causing the pickup to spin out of control and eight of the 11 passengers being tossed off the vehicle, according to a Matichon Online report.
Among the eight, five landed into the outbound lanes and were crushed to death by a Pattani-registered oil trailer owned by Transport Co coming at high speed. The deceased included four men, two of whom surname not known, Niab Sripetch, Aumnaj Deeduang, Lek, Daeng, and woman Anisa Poomres.
Three others hit the road near the pickup and were in critical condition, police said. An investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of the accident.