Motorcyclist Fatally Struck by Hit-and-Run Pickup After First Being Struck by Another Pickup

Picture from responders.

An incident in Udon Thani province occurred on the night of January 19, when a man was killed in a hit-and-run incident after his motorcycle had first collided with another pickup. The crash left one man dead and another injured.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Pairongam Yodpanya, an investigator with Phen Police Station, reported the crash occurred at approximately 19:00, along the Sum Sao–Ban Dung Road, near the three-way intersection leading to Ban Non Sawang in Tao Hai subdistrict, Phen district.

At the scene, authorities found the body of Mr. Chalit aged 52, from Ban Dung district. He was lying on the roadside wearing a dark jacket and jeans. His sandals were scattered nearby. His green Honda Wave 125 motorcycle, damaged, was found about 10 metres away. A cardboard box tied to the motorbike contained a fighting rooster that survived the accident unscathed.

Parked along the roadside was a grey Isuzu pickup truck with damage to its right front wheel arch. The driver, 74-year-old Mr. Lamsorn, from Phen district, had sustained minor injuries and was awaiting police at the scene.

Mr. Lamsorn recounted that he was driving home from Ban Non Sawang when the motorcycle collided heavily with the right side of his vehicle after he had turned left at the intersection. He immediately pulled over and rushed to check on the motorcyclist, who lay motionless in the middle of the road. Fearing another vehicle might hit the injured man, Mr. Lamsorn began dragging him to the roadside.

Moments later, a speeding pickup truck heading towards Ban Dung struck both Mr. Chalit and Mr. Lamsorn. The truck ran over Mr. Chalit’s body, throwing it off the road. The driver of the second truck fled the scene. Mr. Lamsorn managed to jump away to avoid most of the impact, but sustained a cut to his mouth during the incident.

Mr. Manat Kamkanya, a first responder from Ban Lao Subdistrict Administrative Organisation, confirmed the victim had no vital signs upon arrival and was pronounced dead at the scene. He also treated Mr. Lamsorn for his injuries before transporting him to Phen Hospital.

The crash occurred in a poorly lit area, with no streetlights or CCTV cameras. Mr. Manat speculated that darkness likely played a role in the collision between the motorcycle and the first pickup truck.

Relatives of the deceased were informed of the incident after they called Mr. Chalit’s phone. They revealed that he worked as a mechanic in Nong Nok Khian village, Phen district, and commuted between his workplace and Ban Dung on weekends. He was transporting a fighting rooster home at the time of the collision.

Police have taken Mr. Chalit’s body to Phen Hospital while awaiting his family to claim it for funeral rites. Investigators plan to interview Mr. Lamsorn in more detail after he recovers from the shock, in hopes of identifying the fleeing driver.

-- 2025-01-21