Car Hits Power Pole, Erupts in Flames, Driver Dies in Ayutthaya

Pictures courtesy of SaimNews

A 32-year-old man died after the car he was driving struck a roadside power pole and burst into flames in Ayutthaya province in the early hours of 31 January, with rescuers unable to reach him before the fire had intensified. The crash occurred on Highway 3056, the Uthai–Phachi road, near the Uthai–Phachi junction in Moo 5, Khan Ham subdistrict, Uthai district. Emergency crews battled a fast-spreading blaze as the driver became trapped inside the vehicle.

Police were alerted at about 01.00 on 31 January, according to Pol Lt Col Boonchoed Chedbaramee, an investigator at Uthai Police Station. Fire engines from the Khan Ham Subdistrict Administrative Organisation and volunteers from the Phutthaisawan Foundation were dispatched to the scene. The Honda City saloon, registered in Lopburi, was found crushed against a power pole and fully ablaze, preventing immediate rescue.

After the fire was brought under control, responders used hydraulic cutting equipment to remove the body from the wreckage. The upper part of the victim’s body had been severely burned, and cooking equipment and a gas cylinder were found inside the car. The impact was so severe that parts of the engine was hurled into a nearby shophouse and scattering debris across the road.

A shophouse owner said he and his wife were asleep upstairs when they heard a loud crash and rushed down to find the engine parts lodged within their property. They attempted to douse the flames and pry open the car door to help the driver but were forced back by the intense fire. “I feel very sorry that we could not help him,” he said.

Volunteer responder Chatchai Rueang-ochaa said the driver was still alive when teams first arrived and a dry chemical extinguisher was used to try to contain the flames. Rescuers tried to force the doors but could not overcome the heat and a gas cylinder inside the car later exploded, forcing crews to withdraw. He added that if the door had been opened earlier, the victim might have survived with serious injuries.

The car owner later identified the deceased as his employee, Attachai, who had worked with him for three months selling food at a nearby village market. On the evening of the incident they had sold goods together before the owner rode home by motorcycle, leaving Attachai to close the stall and drive to his residence in Bang Pa-in district. Attachai had been saving to propose to his girlfriend in March and regularly used the car to take his mother out on days off.

SiamNews reported that CCTV footage from the area shows the car travelling at speed before slamming into the pole, sending the engine parts into the building and igniting. Investigators documented the scene and sent the body to the Central Institute of Forensic Science in Pathum Thani for post-mortem examination in accordance with legal procedures.

Key Takeaways

• A 32-year-old driver died after his Honda City struck a power pole and caught fire in Ayutthaya on 31 Jan 2569.

• Rescuers said the victim was initially alive but flames and a gas cylinder explosion prevented a successful rescue.

• Police are reviewing CCTV and forensic findings as part of the investigation.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now from Siamnews 2026-02-01