LPG tanker may have dozed off at the wheel : police
From the evidence gathered from the Pattanakarn Road crash site, police now believe that the driver of a LPG tanker truck was dozing behind the wheel when his vehicle slammed into a bridge railing in Klong Tan district and exploded last week.
Pol Lt Gen Peerapong Damapong, commissioner of the Office of Forensic Science said that there were no traces of braking at the scene at all.
“Today our officers collected evidence from the burnt out vehicle and at the crash site. We have found no traces of braking on the road, leading us to assume that the driver was dozing at the wheel,” he said.
The driver, identified as Anan Kaewma, fled the scene after the accident. Police are demanding that he surrenders or face an arrest warrant.
The truck, which was carrying 4,000 litres of LPG, slammed into the bridge railing in front of Pattanakarn Soi 20 on Friday at about 5.30am and exploded. The explosion seriously burnt a man and wounded two others.
Police sealed off traffic following the accident and allowed the fire to burn off the LPG as they could not close the valve. Traffic resumed around 1pm.
Pol Lt Col Krissada Kansoda of Klongtan police station said that police had initially planned to talk to the victim of the accident, Buapan Suwannasaen, today but doctors at Phetcharavej Hospital had refused permission as he is still in a sterile room.
However, the doctors believe he will be well enough to talk to police in a few days.
He added that if the driver fails to show up within a few days, the police will seek court approval to issue an arrest warrant against him.
