Nine hurt as pickup rams 10 vehicles in Buri Ram

Nine hurt as pickup rams 10 vehicles in Buri Ram

An ambulance stands by to take injured people to the hospital after a speeding pickup truck struck 10 vehicles in Buri Ram early Saturday. Police say they have been contacted by relatives of the suspect, who they say is mentally ill, and that he would surrender. (Photo by Surachai Piragsa)
An ambulance stands by to take injured people to the hospital after a speeding pickup truck struck 10 vehicles in Buri Ram early Saturday. Police say they have been contacted by relatives of the suspect, who they say is mentally ill, and that he would surrender. (Photo by Surachai Piragsa)

BURI RAM: A man who fled after driving a speeding pickup truck into 10 vehicles, injuring nine people, is mentally ill and relatives will bring him to surrender soon, police said on Saturday.

The frightening incident occurred at around 1.30am Saturday when the speeding Mitsubishi Triton rammed into several motorcycles riding on a road in front of Buri Ram Rajabhat University in Muang district. Witnesses were unable to get a good look at the licence plate.  

The pickup driver then sped off and struck another motorcycle and a police pickup truck parked along a road near the Lively market. It then rear-ended a car waiting at the lights at the Sensiri intersection in Muang district. The driver did not stop but accelerated to hit another motorcycle at the intersection before fleeing. Many panicked passersby ran for safety.

Police who rushed to the crash scenes found nine people injured, two of them badly. A total of 10 vehicles — eight motorcycles, one car and one police pickup truck — were damaged.

Police and rescue workers gave chase along the escape route to Nong Phrue village in Muang district, but they were unable to stop the speeding pickup.

Officers examined images from closed-circuit security cameras in an attempt to learn more about the vehicle and its driver.

Relatives of the suspect subsequently contacted Pol Lt Col Anirut Phadungdee, investigation chief at the Muang district station. They said that the man, identified only as Nirut, 46, of Lam Plai Mat district, had previously been treated in hospital for mental illness. They said they would take him to surrender to police soon, according to Pol Col Torsak Sriserm, chief of Buri Ram police.

This car sustained heavy damage after a speeding pickup rear-ended it at an intersection in Muang district of Buri Ram early Saturday. (Photo by Surachai Piragsa)

Kanchana Teerasuwan, 33, told police that she and her son were inside the car driven by her husband when it was rear-ended. They were returning home after selling goods at the provincial Red Cross fair, and were waiting at the traffic lights at the Sensiri intersection when the car was hit. 

The impact of the crash threw her son, who was sleeping in the back seat, into the front seat. Her husband immediately took their son out of the vehicle. 

Thawat Ponsen, another victim, said he and five other friends were riding home when the pickup truck rammed into their motorbikes in front of Rajabhat University. Two of his friends were badly hurt: one suffered a broken leg and another had bleeding on the brain and was still unconscious.

One of the eight motorcycles struck by the speeding pickup lies on the road in Buri Ram. (Photo by Surachai Piragsa)

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