Brit Tourist Critical After Pattaya Truck Fall

2 minutes ago, Taboo2 said:

GoFund My irresponsible behavior...

No way will I donate. My money will go to Soi 6 and LK treats.

In other words agogofundme

2 hours ago, rwill said:

I wish him a full recovery. Hopefully it will just be a lesson learned.

He didn't learn anything before, and after.....might not be possible anymore

2 hours ago, thailand49 said:

My guess, even if he had insurance riding in back of pick up, or being thrown out insurance would find a clause not to pay.

Indeed- and there is a suggestion of a fight that led to his fall- and the truck he was in ran over him- the insurers will of course wriggle

I hope he recovers

7 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Ethan had a “30% chance of survival if kept on life support for 2 weeks”.

So he’s likely never going to know that his local team (Aston Villa) won their first European trophy for 40 years last night. Timing eh…? 😞

5 hours ago, gungadin1 said:

Surely if you're traveling for 2 months you would take out 2 months travel insurance.I find it unbelievable that it ran out

"Ethan’s travel insurance had expired before the accident"

It would seem that Ethan was not paying attention to the duration of his travel insurance and continued his travels beyond 2 months.

6 hours ago, jcmj said:

the Go Fund Me has been abused so much lately by people that aren’t making good decisions and doubt it will cover much

How is GoFundMe being "abused so much" when it has no purpose apart from raising funds for situations like this? What is the normal unabused purpose of GoFundMe?

6 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Ah, now if only the police stopped people riding in the back of pickups because it's illegal and dangerous and can result in life-threatening injury.

It's still safer than riding on a scooter, which is the only economically viable option for millions of Thai people.

13 minutes ago, impulse said:

It's still safer than riding on a scooter, which is the only economically viable option for millions of Thai people.

It isn't, if people drive properly, in a safe manner. You know, like not speeding, not emerging from side roads without looking, wear a helmet, that kind of thing. Like they do in other countries where they don't have many thousands of scooter deaths a year.

6 hours ago, Muhendis said:

Or may be the thai government could use their extra airport charges as insurance for these sort of eventualities.

Given AOT is a publicly listed company I doubt the share holders would be keen.

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

"Ethan’s travel insurance had expired before the accident"

It would seem that Ethan was not paying attention to the duration of his travel insurance and continued his travels beyond 2 months.

That happen when you little brain takes over from the big one.

10 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Yeah, exactly. However it´s just another Brit and another GoFund Me.

Try and find some kindness. Most kids / youths dream of a nice holiday. <deleted> happens, and to be direct most travel insurers are rubbish. Families are generally not rolling in money these days , 1000£ a day for how long ? The heart break of loosing a child looming. Opening a Go fund me isn’t illegal. I doubt anyone does it with pleasure.’

Why complain about something that doesn’t concern you ?

No one is asking you to donate.

9 hours ago, thailand49 said:

My guess, even if he had insurance riding in back of pick up, or being thrown out insurance would find a clause not to pay.

Another guess would be that some young travels are more concerned about travel insurance to cover the cost of their airfare not health coverage.

Limited sympathy for those who can't protect themselves by taking out adequate insurance.

I always did as a young traveller, it was top of my list before bars and booze.

14 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

According to local reports, Ethan was travelling in the back of a pickup truck when he either fell or was thrown off during an argument, at a busy intersection in Pattaya.

Aggression is a killer.

Probably, most people this age get injured due to unwarranted aggressive behavior.

Fortunately, I am a reader.

I love to read good books.

I did not come to Thailand to fight.

I did not come to Thailand to box, either.

When you come here, first learn the language, which might require about four years of your time.

Then, after that....just chill.

If you want to fight, then return to the UK, and attend a football rodeo.

I HATE football, either American style or Brit style.

Young people should, alternatively, learn to row.

By the time one has finished rowing about 20,000 meters, in one afternoon, then....

Nobody has enough energy to fight.

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It isn't, if people drive properly, in a safe manner. You know, like not speeding, not emerging from side roads without looking, wear a helmet, that kind of thing. Like they do in other countries where they don't have many thousands of scooter deaths a year.

The data I quote claiming that scoters are 20-40x as deadly as cars (per km) come from studies done in the USA and in Aus.

I'd love to know the Thai numbers, but I've never been able to find them. Maybe someone can help me out and point me to A) Fatalities per km driven and B) Break that down by scooters and 4 wheelers. If you're really in an Ai mood, it would be good to see deaths per km with and without a helmet, too. I doubt you'll find them, and that seems to be on purpose.

I don't care where you are on the planet. Riding a scooter is much more dangerous than riding in over a ton of steel with (or without) your seatbelt fastened.

56 minutes ago, geisha said:

Try and find some kindness. Most kids / youths dream of a nice holiday. <deleted> happens, and to be direct most travel insurers are rubbish. Families are generally not rolling in money these days , 1000£ a day for how long ? The heart break of loosing a child looming. Opening a Go fund me isn’t illegal. I doubt anyone does it with pleasure.’

Why complain about something that doesn’t concern you ?

No one is asking you to donate.

Yep, and the first thing you do going abroad, is to sit outside in the back of a pick-up! Right! That´s something you do all the time in your home country, right?

Why do you read and comment on something that doesn´t concern you?

11 hours ago, Jimbolkb said:

I have a hard time visualizing, falling of a truck (not songtaew ?) , right... you fall, but how can the back wheel, run over your head? run over by another car, ok

was he hanging out on the side with his head near the wheel ?

I agree. I too cannot quite picture this. It's not clear if the truck (I'm assuming a pickup) was moving or not. Only possible way would be if the car was stationary, he fell off or was pushed/thrown off and landed with his head in front of the rear wheel (somehow) and the car drove off running over his head.

Very sad and I pray for this lads full recovery. I dont know the full facts but I'm guessing he was on one of those Bhat buses that you see 100's of in Pattaya. I visited back in 2020 (never again) and rode on one of those things (never again). The driver was driving like a madman so I know how easy it is to fall off or be pushed off.

At least it seems like this lad had insurance but not for the whole duration of his stay and probably just basic cover.

At least theres the good old "GoFundMe" which more and more people are relying on these days and see it as a fantastic alternative to any kind of insurance.

I wonder how much of this current fund raiser has already or is still being used to cover the flights, accomodation and living expenses of the THREE family members that have already travelled to Thailand.

Just saying !

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

Yep, and the first thing you do going abroad, is to sit outside in the back of a pick-up! Right! That´s something you do all the time in your home country, right?

Why do you read and comment on something that doesn´t concern you?

Actually the army made me ride around in the back of Land Rovers without seat belts. They made me jump off them while moving as well.

Same applies to 3t lorries which had quite a high platform.

As a young lad I loved it.

Wouldn't do it now at 70 though. Wouldn't survive the landing in one piece.

6 minutes ago, garsmx said:

Very sad and I pray for this lads full recovery. I dont know the full facts but I'm guessing he was on one of those Bhat buses that you see 100's of in Pattaya. I visited back in 2020 (never again) and rode on one of those things (never again). The driver was driving like a madman so I know how easy it is to fall off or be pushed off.

At least it seems like this lad had insurance but not for the whole duration of his stay and probably just basic cover.

At least theres the good old "GoFundMe" which more and more people are relying on these days and see it as a fantastic alternative to any kind of insurance.

I wonder how much of this current fund raiser has already or is still being used to cover the flights, accomodation and living expenses of the THREE family members that have already travelled to Thailand.

Just saying !

3x 8 hour shifts at his bedside.

4 minutes ago, BusyB said:

Actually the army made me ride around in the back of Land Rovers without seat belts. They made me jump off them while moving as well.

Same applies to 3t lorries which had quite a high platform.

As a young lad I loved it.

Wouldn't do it now at 70 though. Wouldn't survive the landing in one piece.

Yes, but you are comparing an army education with vacation and Thai road as well as traffic. Are you sure you are ok?

Before I bothered reading the article I did a quick search for "gofundme" and sure enough there it was, the weekly Brit GoFundMe beg. Didn't bother reading it.

17 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

A British tourist is fighting for his life, after reportedly falling from a moving pickup truck and being run over in Pattaya. Ethan Lacey, 20, from Birmingham, who had taken two months off from his factory job to visit Thailand, is on life support at a hospital in Bangkok after suffering critical head injuries in the incident on May 16.

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According to local reports, Ethan was travelling in the back of a pickup truck when he either fell or was thrown off during an argument, at a busy intersection in Pattaya. Local media reported that the truck’s rear wheel ran over his head, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.

Ethan’s family lost contact with him on May 15 while he was travelling across Thailand. Several days later, they discovered he was in intensive care after being alerted by a woman he was reportedly seeing in Thailand.

His grandmother, Anthea Chatwin, has launched a GoFundMe appeal to help cover mounting medical expenses and maintain his life support treatment. In an update shared on the fundraising page, she said doctors had told the family Ethan had a “30% chance of survival if kept on life support for 2 weeks”.

Ms Chatwin also shared details of the financial burden facing the family. She wrote that hospital costs were expected to reach between GBP800 and GBP1000 per day while Ethan remains in intensive care.

In an earlier update, Ms Chatwin explained how the family located Ethan. She wrote: “We located Ethan at 5:00am on the 19th May British time, via a girl he is seeing in Thailand, he is in the ICU.”

She added that Ethan’s travel insurance had expired before the accident. The family is now seeking donations to help pay medical costs and eventually return him to the UK.

Ethan’s mother, father and grandmother are understood to have travelled to Thailand to be at his bedside. At the time of reporting, more than GBP2,200 had been raised through the online appeal.

The case has drawn attention to the risks faced by tourists travelling in open-backed vehicles in Thailand, particularly in busy resort areas such as Pattaya. No further details about the circumstances of the crash or any police investigation have been released by authorities, who are still believed to still be searching for the pickup.

The Mirror reported that Doctors are expected to continue monitoring Ethan’s condition over the coming days and weeks, while his family remains in Thailand, hoping for the best.

Pictures courtesy of The Mirror

Original story

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I think I have seen this guy somewhere before:

Just darn tragic. A young lad out for adventure and ends up under the back wheel of a pickup. Geez, I really hope he recovers- but it seems unlikely.

Pure speculation, but if you are sitting on the edge of the bed of the truck up near the driver passenger compartment and the truck does a quick jerk to the left, there is nothing holding you in. Feet are on the bed floor, hands holding nothing. Backflip out, mid truck.

I hope the lad survives. Bad accident. Lotsa life still to live @ 20.

21 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

So you don't think the family should pay? better strangers pay on gobegme

I think they should find the truck that ran over him and then left the scene of the accident and make that insurance pay for him.

22 hours ago, Jimbolkb said:

I have a hard time visualizing, falling of a truck (not songtaew ?) , right... you fall, but how can the back wheel, run over your head? run over by another car, ok

was he hanging out on the side with his head near the wheel ?

I actually went and took a look at my truck over this and felt he must have been at the front of the bed, immediately behind the cab, either sat on the rim or stood, and tipped out as the truck went around the bend. All speculative of course and the original reports all suggested he jumped out.

End result is very sad and Thailand often proves too free for the young and wild!

12 hours ago, Suetape said:

Another guess would be that some young travels are more concerned about travel insurance to cover the cost of their airfare not health coverage.

To be honest, while working prior to living here, I never once thought about travel insurance, although I had coverage from work. I'm no world traveler like many here or the stories I read about but Never did I have.

I just travel, spent my two or three weeks majority in Asian and went home, but never even when visiting Thailand, my past was laced with lots of danger but when traveling I was pretty much a model citizen I never did any of the stuff that I'm reading about.

On holiday here prior I did a bungy jump in Jomtien park off the top of that tall building, the drop was only 15 feet then the the system kicked in to ride you the rest of the way down. I did a parachute jump then it hit me the safety aspect wasn't like in the West, so I stopped along with getting older.

The only time I ever used medical care in Hong Kong, accidently drank some water out of tap and got the flu, paid up front and my insurance refunded when they did they paid me in US dollars, but I told them the actually amount HK 7-1.

Crazy!

14 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Yes, but you are comparing an army education with vacation and Thai road as well as traffic. Are you sure you are ok?

It's not easy to jump off a moving vehicle on a road or a track, especially when it's bouncing around. And it's often not easy hanging on to anything bouncing around on a track. Just saying that's all.

The main difference I think is that we intended to jump - it sounds like he got involved in a fight and fell. Not good.

And like I said: I wouldn't consider jinks like that if my life depended on it nowadays. I do enjoy hanging on to the back of song thaews though. I wait till they stop before jumping off.

41 minutes ago, BusyB said:

It's not easy to jump off a moving vehicle on a road or a track, especially when it's bouncing around. And it's often not easy hanging on to anything bouncing around on a track. Just saying that's all.

The main difference I think is that we intended to jump - it sounds like he got involved in a fight and fell. Not good.

And like I said: I wouldn't consider jinks like that if my life depended on it nowadays. I do enjoy hanging on to the back of song thaews though. I wait till they stop before jumping off.

It occurs to me that I've also ridden in the back of pick-ups on my way to diving venues and ports. I love that bit actually still. But I don't fight at the same time (or ever, I'd lose hands down 555).