An app-based motorcycle taxi rider fell asleep and crashed into a bridge railing in Bangkok, causing his female passenger to plunge onto the road below.
The moment was captured on video and shared on TikTok by user @rnatpakan, showing the woman falling from the bridge at the Ratchayothin Intersection in the Chatuchak district at about 7am yesterday, August 25. She landed on the roof of a passing sedan, shattering its windscreen.
A separate motorcycle taxi rider, 46 year old Kai, later told Channel 7 that he had been nearby serving passengers and rushed to the scene after hearing about the accident. According to bystanders, the app-based rider struck the bridge railing, which caused the passenger to fall.
Kai reported that the woman sustained serious injuries, while the rider suffered only minor injuries and did not fall from the bridge. He added that the crash was caused by the rider dozing off.
Police at Phahonyothin Police Station later identified the passenger as Lwin Lwin Aye, a Burmese national, who is now receiving close medical care at Paolo Kaset Hospital. She was conscious when rescuers transported her to the hospital, but her current condition has not been updated.
The rider was identified as Thanaphat, who admitted that he had fallen asleep while driving. He has been charged under Section 390 of the Criminal Code for committing a reckless act that caused injury to another person.
The offence carries a penalty of up to one month in prison, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both. Police added that if the victim’s condition worsens, more serious charges could be filed.
This is not the first such incident. In April, a Thai woman in Pathum Thani province narrowly survived after her car plunged from a five metre high bridge onto a traffic barrier below. She admitted attending a party before the accident, but did not confirm whether she had been drinking.
In another case last December, a woman in Samut Prakan was injured when she fell from a pedestrian bridge after dropping her mobile phone through the railing and attempting to retrieve it.
The story Passenger plunges from bridge after Bangkok taxi driver falls asleep as seen on Thaiger News.
