Foreign man dies after being hit by lose tree branch
At around 6:30pm on Sunday January 22nd, Pattaya police and emergency services were called to the scene of a fatal freak accident involving an elderly foreign man down at beach road, Jomtien. Arriving at the scene, police found the dead body of the man lying in the middle of the footpath.
The victim, Mr. Giacomo Smedile, 91 years old, was a retiree from Italy who had been enjoying his retirement in Thailand. An eye witness to the accident said that he saw the victim walking along the footpath, when a tree branch unexpectedly snapped off and fell onto the head of Mr. Smedile.
He was in fact, walking back home with his Thai wife, 49 year old, who didn’t want to be named. She said they were almost home when she turned around to find her husband lying motionless on the floor. She immediately called for emergency services however, by the time they had arrived Mr. Smedile had sadly passed away.
Locals in the area told reporters that the trees are usually maintained on a regular monthly schedule by the city council service, but had been neglected for the last 2-3 month previous to the incident.
Mr. Smedile’s wife was still in a state of shock at the scene. She told reporters that her husband was fit and healthy and despite his age, still lived an active lifestyle. Authorities are still un-sure whether Mr. Smedile has family back at home, but have already informed the Italian embassy of the tragic news.
