An art director of animated movie, Kan Kluay was killed when a Honda CRV he was driving crashed into an electric pole on Rama IV road in Klong Toey district early on Thursday.
The fatal crash occurred near Kluay Nam Thai intersection in Phra Khanong area, said Pol Maj Gen Kaweewat Apiwat, investigation chief at Thong Lor police station, who was reported at around 5am.
Police, forensic officials and rescue workers rushing to the scene found a white Honda CRV with Bangkok licence plates had crashed into a roadside electric pole. The driver's body was trapped in the wreckage.
The man was later identified as Patchanu Noree, 44, art director of the popular Kan Kluay animated film about a baby elephant which grew up to serve King Naresuan in his elephant duel with a Burmese king, Thai media reported.
A city cleaner of the Klong Toey district office said she heard the sound of car brakes and then a loud bang at around 4.30am. She initially thought a car might hit a house or a motorcycle. When she went to take a look she saw the CRV had crashed into the electric pole at the curve.
Police were examining CCTV footage and forensic tests to find the cause of the crash. The officers initially believed the driver might have travelled at a high speed, causing him to lose control of the car.
Rescue volunteers try to retrieve the body of the man trapped in his CRV after it crashed into an electric pole in Kuay Nam Thai intersection in Klong Toey district, Bangkok, early on Thursday. (Video from Ruamkatanyu Foundation, Lotus Rama 3 point Facebook page)