Drunk Driver Crashes Pickup Truck Through House Wall—Homeowner Credits Prayer for Narrow Escape
A drunk driver crashed his pickup truck through a residential wall in Buriram's Ban Semet area on May 14, narrowly missing the main house structure and injuring two men inside the vehicle.
Buriram — A young drunk driver lost control of his pickup truck on a residential curve, slamming through a house wall and narrowly missing the structure itself. The homeowner said she had just finished her daily prayers asking for her family's safety and good fortune when the crash occurred, believing her spiritual practice protected them from greater harm.
On May 14th, police from Muang Buriram Station received a report of a pickup truck crashing into a residential wall in the Ban Semet area of Glantah Subdistrict. Rescue units from Sawang Thammaraj Buriram arrived with cutting equipment to assist. They found a silver Isuzu pickup bearing Chachoengsao license plate BЧ 4424 had smashed through the wall of Nang Thongsi Chatchaithaisong's house, narrowly missing the main structure.
Rescue workers extracted two injured men from the vehicle: the driver, 37-year-old Chalerm (nickname "Gik") Chuaysongkran, who was unconscious, and passenger Sarawut Dandngmuang, 42, who suffered minor injuries. Sarawut told police that he and the driver had been drinking together at a friend's house since early afternoon. When it was time to go home, the driver volunteered to take him, but became confused about which direction to turn at the curve while intoxicated. The truck veered out of control and struck the wall.
Homeowner Thongsi Chatchaithaisong, 67, recalled that she had been sitting in prayer just before the crash, asking for her family's happiness and safety. Less than a minute after finishing her prayers, she heard a loud crash and rushed outside to find the pickup had smashed through her fence. She considered herself fortunate that the vehicle didn't penetrate the house itself, as she had experienced a similar incident before that had caused more extensive damage. She attributed her family's safety to the power of her prayers.
The driver's mother, Nonglak Dandngmuang, 67, arrived at the scene and revealed the two men had been drinking at home since 2 p.m. and were heavily intoxicated. She noted the truck had nearly gone off the road in front of the house once already before the final crash.
