PATTAYA, THAILAND – A white sedan crashed into a house in Nong Prue, collapsing a concrete wall and injuring three people, including a woman who was seriously hurt.
Car ploughed into Rung Rueang housing estate home
The crash occurred at about 7:06 a.m. on Tuesday in the Rung Rueang housing estate, Soi 4, at house number 50/144, Moo 5. According to initial information, the car first smashed through the property’s fence and then slammed into the front of the two-storey house.
Rescue workers from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation and officers from Nongprue police arrived shortly after the alarm was raised. They had been told that several people were trapped under debris.
Driver trapped as house front heavily damaged
Responders found the Toyota Vios wedged into the front section of the house, with the façade badly damaged. The male driver, whose identity police had not yet released, was trapped inside the vehicle and appeared dazed.
He told officers he had suddenly lost consciousness. Police said he reported that he had suffered a blackout and could not remember how the crash happened.
Three injured inside, homeowner’s wife badly hurt
Inside the house, three people were injured. Two family members sustained minor injuries, according to rescue personnel, and were taken immediately to a nearby hospital.
The homeowner’s wife was hit the hardest. She had been in the bathroom taking a shower when part of the concrete wall collapsed and buried her, and rescuers had to use hydraulic cutting tools in a difficult operation to free her from the rubble.
After being rescued, she was transported to hospital in serious condition.
Homeowner describes moment of impact
The 44-year-old homeowner Wirote Boonbamrung was not injured. He described the incident to a reporter at the scene:
“I woke up to take my daughter to school and was waiting for my wife to finish showering when I heard a tremendous bang. I ran to the front door, but I couldn’t open it because the car was right in front of it.”
said Wirote Boonbamrung, homeowner.
He added that both his mother-in-law and his daughter were hurt, while his wife had been trapped the longest under the debris in the bathroom.
Police probe cause, test driver for alcohol and drugs
Police took the driver to a hospital for alcohol and drug testing. Investigators were also reviewing footage from nearby CCTV cameras to reconstruct the exact sequence of events.
Authorities secured the damaged house and the crashed vehicle. Nongprue police said their investigation into the cause of the accident was continuing.