A food delivery rider died yesterday, September 1, after an uncovered drainage pipe caused him to crash his motorcycle on a road in the Wichit subdistrict of Phuket. Police are investigating whether the contractor responsible for the construction site was negligent.
Wichit Police Station received a report of the accident at about 5pm yesterday. The victim was identified as 19 year old Teeraphat, who was reportedly a university student and worked as a food delivery rider in his free time.
Teeraphat was taken to Dibuk Hospital by emergency responders after the accident. Despite receiving medical treatment, he later died from his injuries.
An investigation and CCTV footage from near the scene indicated that Teeraphat had been riding a blue Honda Wave 110 motorcycle towards the Naka Shrine intersection.
When he reached a section of road where drainage construction was underway, the exposed drainage pipe caused him to crash. The impact caused Teeraphat to suffer serious injuries before he was taken to hospital.
Police are preparing to question the contractor responsible for the construction site. Officers said that if the investigation finds the contractor was negligent and that the negligence caused Teeraphat’s death, the contractor could face a charge of causing death by negligence.
Under Section 291 of the Criminal Code, causing death through negligence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 200,000 baht.
The Phuket motorcycle accident follows several similar incidents involving uncovered or damaged drainage systems in Thailand.
Last month, a street sweeper in Bangkok fell into a drain while on duty. She reportedly stepped on the drain cover before suddenly falling inside. Her colleagues initially did not realise she had fallen and later searched for her after noticing she was missing.
Rescuers took about 30 minutes to remove the woman from the drain before taking her to hospital. At the time of the report, relevant officials had not disclosed the confirmed cause of the incident, including whether it was linked to a low-standard drain cover or negligence by a construction contractor.
Another incident occurred in Phuket when a Russian tourist was injured after his leg slipped into a drainage system. Police and locals eventually freed the tourist’s leg from the drain before taking her to hospital.
The story Phuket food delivery rider dies after riding on uncovered drainage pipe as seen on Thaiger News.
