BURI RAM, THAILAND – A late-night chain collision at a red light in Nong Ki district left two truck drivers dead and killed or injured many pigs being transported.
Collision shortly before midnight
Police and rescue workers were called on 10 March at about 11.30 p.m. to a serious crash on Highway 24 (Chok Chai–Det Udom) in Tambon Thung Kraten. Investigating officer Pol Lt Col Suthat Saikrasun from Nong Ki police station described a sequence of rear-end collisions at a traffic light intersection.
He said the incident involved multiple heavy vehicles and occurred while some were stopped for the red signal. The crash site was cordoned off while emergency teams worked in the dark to reach the victims.
Four vehicles in chain reaction
According to police, the initial impact came when a 22-wheel truck carrying fertilizer sacks slammed into a 10-wheel truck waiting at the red light. The force of the collision pushed the struck truck forward into two more vehicles.
Those vehicles were another 10-wheel truck and a pickup. The sequence created a pile-up that severely damaged all four vehicles involved.
Two drivers died at the scene
The drivers of the 22-wheel truck and the first 10-wheel truck hit were found dead at the scene, according to police. Rescue workers needed about two hours to recover the bodies from the completely deformed cabs.
The wreckage of the front sections made access difficult and slowed down recovery efforts. Officers documented the scene while rescue teams used cutting tools to reach the victims.
Injured in the pickup
Three people in the pickup were injured and received medical treatment. Police initially did not provide further details about their condition or which hospital they were taken to.
Investigators said information on the injuries would be released after confirmation from medical staff. The pickup was heavily damaged in the front section.
Pig transports badly hit
According to officers, the two 10-wheel trucks were transporting more than one hundred pigs. Many of the animals were killed or injured in the collision, which made the operation even more difficult.
Rescue personnel had to work around the overturned and damaged livestock compartments. The presence of injured animals prolonged the clearing of the crash site.
Residents call intersection an accident hotspot
Residents in the area told police that accidents occurred frequently at this intersection, even though the traffic lights had been in operation for only about a year. They blamed reckless driving and excessive speed for the repeated crashes.
Locals said some drivers mistakenly treated the route as a continuous main thoroughfare and failed to slow down for the intersection.
“Drivers go too fast here and ignore that there is a traffic light, so serious accidents keep happening,”
said one resident, according to police accounts.