PHITSANULOK – A tragic accident early Saturday morning occurred when a married couple was driving from Nakhon Thai, heading to teach Dharma in Uttaradit, when a cow ran in front of their vehicle.
Their vehicle hit the cow, overturned, and ended up in a pond adjacent to the road. Both occupants lost their lives. Only hours before, two separate vehicles also collided with cows in roughly the same spot during the night, but no injuries were reported in those incidents.
Pol Lt Col Manut Wichakhot from Kaeng Sopha Police Station told reporters that they received a call about a vehicle accident on Highway 12, between Namtok Ploi and Ban Pong Pa at kilometre marker 292 in Ban Namtok Ploi, Kaeng Sopha subdistrict, Wang Thong district, Phitsanulok.
The report stated that a car had hit a cow, lost control, overturned, and crashed into a pond, leaving the married couple dead. Rescue teams and cutting equipment were brought to the scene.
There, a large group of locals gathered near the road as the wreckage was examined. The remains of a cow lay nearby, having suffered a fatal hit. The white Honda Jazz, registration plate กง 6145 Phitsanulok, lay overturned in the water by the roadside.
Rescue workers used special tools to retrieve the bodies of the driver and passenger, identified later as Mr. Uthis Boonchan, 53, from Ban Yaeng in Nakhon Thai district, and Ms. Chatchanok Chanasakul, 50.
Relatives of the couple shared that both had left their home in Khok Yai, planning to teach Dharma as guest speakers in Uttaradit, before the crash ended their journey. Rescue teams took their bodies to Buddhachinaraj Hospital’s forensic division for further examination.
The night before, police had already been called to another accident nearby. A group of around ten cows ran onto the road, causing two vehicles, a pickup and a trailer truck, to crash. Both vehicles hit cows, and two animals died, but thankfully, no people were hurt.
Police will now speed up efforts to find the owner of the cows to hold them accountable for this event, as required by law. The bodies of the deceased will be returned to their families for religious ceremonies in accordance with their beliefs.
