Dangerous driver, brakes blamed for pickup landing in Phuket jungle

A pickup truck loaded with tiles rolled some 40 metres backwards down a side street off Kata Hill this morning after the brakes failed to hold the heavily laden pickup on the steep slope, according to the 25-year-old driver.

Rescue workers were called to the scene, in Soi Suksan 1, on the east side of the hill between Chalong and Kata, at about 10:50am.

At the scene was a White Bangkok-registered Toyota pickup truck on its side in a ditch some 10 metres from the roadside down the steep hill.

The pickup’s driver, Sarawut Samranwong, had escaped serious injury, suffering only scratches to his left knee in the incident.

Mr Sarawut explained to police that he was delivering the tiles from Phuket Town to Karon when the accident happened.

Mr Sarawut, who has a heavy vehicle licence issued in Samut Prakan province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, said he was using the GPS for directions to Karon and ended up using Soi Suksan 1, which joins Patak Rd (Route 4028) halfway up the Kata Hill.
While the pickup truck was slowly making its way up the steep gradient on the hill, a car passed and “cut him off”, Mr Sarawut explained.

He quickly applied the brakes, which forced the pickup to a halt. From there the pickup’s front wheels pitched up off the road as the vehicle tilted backwards, then the pickup started rolling backwards down the hill.

The pickup rolled some 40 metres backwards before Mr Sarawut was unable to prevent it from veering off the road – still going backwards – and down into the ditch. The pickup came to rest only after hitting a sator tree.

Mr Sarawut has reported the incident to his employer, who is now making arrangements to receive the pickup.
The Phuket News

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