Wild jumbo, two men injured in pickup truck crash

KANCHANABURI: A wild elephant was injured after being hit by a pickup truck on a road in Muang district of this western border province late on Friday night. The driver and a passenger were also hurt.

The incident occurred on Highway 3199 along Kanchanaburi – Sri Sawat route in tambon Wang Dong, said Pol Lt Col Maneephat Phengkred, investigation chief at Lat Ya police station, who was reported around 10pm on Friday.

Police and rescue volunteers from Pithak Kan Foundation rushed to the scene and found a Toyota pickup truck with Bangkok licence plates on the road with its front badly damaged.

Driver Panya Thiankrachang, 61, and Chaiya Thiankrachang, 59, were injured and rushed to a hospital. Both men are from Samut Sakhon province.

The front section of the pickup truck is damaged with the driver and a passenger injured after the vehicle hit a wild elephant in Muang district of Kanchanaburi province. (Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)

According to a police investigation, the pickup hit the elephant as it was crossing the road. Police believed the driver might have failed to notice signs warning motorists of wild elephants crossing the road, and the area was quite dark.

After being hit, the animal fled into the forest. There were blood strains on the road leading to the forest route.

Paitoon Intarabut, chief of the Salakphra Wildlife Sanctuary, had ordered wildlife sanctuary rangers to track down the injured elephant for treatment.