Garbage Truck Crushes Worker at Landfill in Chachoengsao

A garbage truck struck and killed a sanitation worker at the Namchai landfill in Muang District, Chachoengsao Province, on July 31 at 3:30 p.m. Police from Muang Chachoengsao Station, along with a forensic doctor from Putthasoothon Hospital and rescue personnel, responded to the scene and found an orange municipal garbage truck from Bang Praing Subdistrict, Bang Pakong District, parked at the landfill with its rear bed raised. The victim, 66-year-old Aeknok, a sanitation worker employed by Bang Praing Municipality, was found crushed beneath the rear wheels with severe abrasions to his hip and abdomen. The truck driver, 56-year-old Mongkol, stated that he did not see the victim behind the truck while driving and believed the man had fallen and rolled under the wheels while attempting to remove debris caught on the truck's metal frame. Mongkol said he only realized what happened when he heard screams and stopped to investigate, finding his colleague in distress before he succumbed to his injuries. Preliminary police findings indicated the driver's account did not fully match the incident, prompting them to question additional witnesses. A 21-year-old backhoe operator working nearby stated that he heard the victim cry out and saw him already crushed under the rear wheels. The witness suggested that when the garbage truck turned, the driver may not have seen the victim standing beside the vehicle, and it was possible the victim's long-sleeved shirt caught on the truck, causing him to lose his balance and fall before being run over. After the investigation, the victim's daughter arrived from Bang Pakong District and wept upon seeing her father's body. The truck driver embraced her in an attempt to comfort her amid the somber atmosphere. The family expressed no dissatisfaction with the cause of death, believing it to be an accident.