A driver choking on a pill lost control of his pickup truck, which smashed a phad thai shop on popular food street in Chumphon, severely injuring the food vendor, police said.
The accident happened at 6pm, a busy time on the so-called “food street” in the heart of the Lang Suan downtown district.
The phad thai (Thai-style noodle) vendor, Kanchana Thetpithak, 64, was severely injured and was rushed to the Lang Suang hospital.
The pickup driver, Samart Nakpot, 60, told police that he completely lost control of his pickup because he was desperately coughing to try to free a medicinal pill that had stuck in his throat.
Samart said he was driving out to dine and had tried to swallow a before-meal pill. The coughing fit made him unable to see or to lift his foot from the accelerator pedal.
Samart said his pickup first hit a motorcycle parked on the roadside in front of a Bangkok Bank branch and kept on moving for 50 metres. It then smashed into the roadside shop as well as hitting a wooden pole of Kanchana’s 100-year-old house, causing the front shade to collapse and scattering tables, chairs, pans and other cooking utensils.
Samart said the popular phad thai shop was on his mind when he was driving because he is a regular patron.
Nation
