Bangkok man killed when pickup truck hits wild elephant

By The Nation

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

A Bangkok driver was killed on Wednesday night when his pickup truck apparently hit a wild elephant on a dark road in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district.
 

The driver was identified as Nakharin Boonchai, 58, a Bangkok resident.

 

His badly-damaged pickup was found on a road in Ban Kud Kla Phan Suek in Tambon Moo Si.

 

Rescuers had to use an iron cutter to remove his body which was trapped behind the wheel.

 

Khanchit Srinoppawan, chief of the Khaoyai National Park, who inspected the scene with police and rescuers, noticed footsteps of a large elephant at the spot, which showed the elephant walked back into the forest.

 

Officials believe the pickup hit a large elephant as the road was dark and the driver could not see the pachyderm.

 

Khanchit said wild elephants often roamed in the area, called Chao Duan. Park officials will try to locate the elephant which is likely injured.

 

The road is often crossed by wild elephants at that point because it divides Khaoyai National Park and a corn plantation.

 

Early this month, a pickup truck driver was injured when his vehicle hit a wild elephant at the same location.

 

Officials plan to install street lamps at the location to prevent further accidents.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30359499

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-11-29

Wild? I bet he was absolutely livid!

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Officials plan to install street lamps at the location to prevent further accidents.

What if the elephants refuse to gather together under the street lamps?

RIP to the driver, but it's a head-on collision so one wonders about whether he was paying attention, driving too fast for the conditions, or that his headlamps were working at all.  Elephant 1 : driver 0 - I like the score.

I do hope the Pachyderm is not badly hurt,so many hazards on Thai roads,i rarely drive after dark,it is bad enough in the day.

4 hours ago, zaphod reborn said:

RIP to the driver, but it's a head-on collision so one wonders about whether he was paying attention, driving too fast for the conditions, or that his headlamps were working at all.  Elephant 1 : driver 0 - I like the score.

Could be all of the  above.  But ......large animals on a road are difficult to spot in the dark. Especially if standing side on. Twenty 6 years  ago I hit a horse which in the process of taking the roof of my car sustained internal injuries but  no broken legs. I Was paying attention, driving at nominal road speed for the conditions and my headlamps were perfectly  functional. Problem was that they shone under the animal showing  me the more  distant road until I was too close to  stop in time!! At  night  your  horizon is mostly the road surface  unless there is another vehicle  in front leading  you or approaching. Being non reflective the presence of a large animal is  not  so easy to  spot or actually anticipate. 

Or perhaps  so in  wild  elephant territory.  lol

   I think they need to put reflectors on them.    

13 hours ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Could be all of the  above.  But ......large animals on a road are difficult to spot in the dark. Especially if standing side on. Twenty 6 years  ago I hit a horse which in the process of taking the roof of my car sustained internal injuries but  no broken legs. I Was paying attention, driving at nominal road speed for the conditions and my headlamps were perfectly  functional. Problem was that they shone under the animal showing  me the more  distant road until I was too close to  stop in time!! At  night  your  horizon is mostly the road surface  unless there is another vehicle  in front leading  you or approaching. Being non reflective the presence of a large animal is  not  so easy to  spot or actually anticipate. 

Or perhaps  so in  wild  elephant territory.  lol

Not very smart to drive a go-kart at night...

16 minutes ago, petesc55 said:

   I think they need to put reflectors on them.    

Could tape a couple of CDs to the tail

1 hour ago, petesc55 said:

   I think they need to put reflectors on them.    

Going home one night ,up ahead I see a little red light swaying

back a forth,thinking it's someone drunk on a bike,I slowed down,

getting nearer,I see it's a man walking along with an Elephant and

fixed to its tail was a small red light, 

 

regards worgeordie

Everything's the wrong colors after dusk for a driver to see well....

In the states, where I lived once, there was open range.....

About once a year someone would hit a black bull or cow that ambled out at the wrong time.....Sometimes fatal for the driver as the animal ended up in the driver's seat....One guy got gored by a scared/angry bull.....Another died when he cut the legs out from under a horse & it sheared off the roof & the driver.....

Just a deer can take out a car let alone a bear, elk, elephant...

 

I quit driving long distances at night here, (my preferred way to travel), after a bus hit an elephant a couple of years ago on the main road.....

 

It's a novelty to see them in daylight - probably real hard to recognize, process, & react at nightime....

4 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

Not very smart to drive a go-kart at night...

Really? To say that implies  you have  done so.

21 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Going home one night ,up ahead I see a little red light swaying

back a forth,thinking it's someone drunk on a bike,I slowed down,

getting nearer,I see it's a man walking along with an Elephant and

fixed to its tail was a small red light, 

 

regards worgeordie

 

Just a proper 'tail light'.