PRACHIN BURI: A man and his 7-year-old daughter were killed and his wife injured after an articulated lorry he was driving rammed into the rear of another tractor-trailer on Highway 304 (Nadi-Kabin Buri) in Nadi district of the eastern province on Sunday morning.
Pol Capt Tipol Waskhoksung, an investigator of Wang Khon Daeng police, said the accident occurred at 3.30am at kilometre marker 210 in tambon Buphram.
A police investigation revealed that the lorry was headed for Krabin Buri district. Running downhill on a sharp bend in front of the Chao Pho Khao Pu Thon shrine between Khao Yai and Thap Lan national parks, the brakes failed and the vehicle rammed into the rear of the lorry in front and overturned.
The driver, identified as Preecha Chuahom, 36, and his 7-year-old daughter Jirawan Srirasa were killed. His wife, Arunee Srirasa, 40, was injured and admitted to Nadi Hospital.
Ms Arunee said the lorry driven by her husband was heading from Nakhon Ratchasima to Laem Chabang seaport in Chon Buri province. She was asleep, she said, but was awoken by her husband saying the brakes had failed and he was unable to control the vehicle. She lost consciousness in the crash and regained it while being rushed to the hospital.
The road between Nadi and Kabin Buri districts on Highway 304 is a blackspot for serious accidents involving lorries and buses, most from brake failures while running downhill. This section of the highway has been expanded to four lanes, with a tunnel through the mountains and a bridge across a valley to allow wild animals to roam freely through the mountainous jungle areas.