NAKHON RATCHASIMA: An elderly woman was killed and six people injured when the pickup truck taking them to a housewarming and a passenger van collided at an intersection in Chok Chai district on Thursday morning.
The fatal crash occurred about 7.20am at Korat Denki intersection on Ratchasima-Chok Chai Road, said Pol Capt Thotsaphon Phudsakham, an investigator at Chok Chai.
Emergency services sent to the scene reported finding a pickup truck with Nakhon Ratchasima licence plates stopped in the middle of the road, facing in the wrong direction, with damage to its roof and left side. There were skid marks on the road.
Next to it was a crashed passenger van, operating on the Ratchasima-Khon Kaen route, with its front bumper torn off and some damage to the left front side.
An elderly woman was lying dead on the road. She was Pranee Linthale, 64, of Chok Chai district. Six other people, mostly elderly, were injured on the road and groaning in pain. The injured - three women, two men and a 3-year-old boy - were taken to Chok Chai Hospital.
Police said the pickup was taking people from Don Phram village in Chok Chai district to a relative’s housewarming ceremony in Khon Buri district.
The crash caused the pickup to mount the kurb and it overturned, and the passengers were thrown onto the road.
The pickup truck driver was slightly injured and did not want to go hospital. The van driver, who was alone in his vehicle, was not hurt.
Police took the two drivers to Chok Chai police station for questioning. They were examining footage from surveillance cameras before deciding what charges to lay.