Couple in Toyota Pickup Survive 10 Meter Plunge from Expressway

A married couple has miraculously escaped with only minor injuries when their Toyota pickup truck laden with logan fruit plunged off an expressway onto the road below in central Thailand on Wednesday.

Police in central Thailand’s Samut Prakan province reported the accident occurred at around 11.30 am on the Kanchanpisek expressway in Samut Prakan province.

When police and local rescue workers arrived at the accident scene they found an overturned Toyota pickup truck on the road below the expressway. Baskets of logan fruit were scattered over the road below the expressway.

The driver and a woman passenger sustained only minor injuries despite their pickup truck plunging more than 10 metres to the road below.

The driver of the Toyota pickup truck was later identified as Somchai Traiprom, 32, and his wife Renu Chumjangreed, 42.

Toyota pickup truck crashed into the guard railing

Mr. Somchai told police and rescue workers he was driving his Toyota pickup truck ladened with logan fruit from Chanthaburi to Nakhon Si Thammarat for delivery.

He told police the traffic was congested, so he used the GPS on his smartphone to find another route.

The GPS on his smartphone guided him to an alternative route,  that required him to negotiate a sharp bend. Upon reaching the sharp bend he lost control of his Toyota pickup truck and smashing into the barrier wall, then plunging 10 meters off the expressway onto the roadside below.

Mr. Somchai said he believed both he and his wife survived because Luang Pu Thuad protected them. Luang Phu Thuad was a legendary and highly revered monk from Southern Thailand, he passed away more than 300 years ago.

People in Thailand believe that amulets and statues of Luang Pu Thuat hold great protective powers. Believing he grants them safety in times of distress, especially saving the lives from seemingly fatal vehicle accidents.

Mr. Somchai told Thai media that he had a small statue of the late monk in his pickup truck. His wife also had an amulet of the revered monk.

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