Passenger Van Driver Crashes into Multiple Vehicles Including a Songtaew at North Pattaya Intersection, Injuring Six Foreign Tourists
PATTAYA, Thailand
A passenger van driver slammed into multiple vehicles including a Baht bus (songtaew) waiting at a traffic light at the North Pattaya Motorway Intersection late Monday night, triggering a four-vehicle pileup that left several people injured, including six foreign tourists.
The crash occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. on July 27th, 2026. Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Pattaya City Rescue Radio Center received a report of the accident and dispatched teams with cutting equipment to the scene.
According to officials, a van driver rear-ended a Toyota Fortuner with significant force. The Fortuner then veered into a songthaew (shared passenger truck), which in turn struck a sedan ahead of it, resulting in a chain-reaction collision involving four vehicles.
The songthaew was fully occupied by 13 tourists from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Four of them were injured in the initial assessment and were treated for their injuries. Two Chinese tourists traveling in the van also sustained injuries, as did two Thai passengers from the Fortuner.
The van’s driver, 32-year-old Phongphet Phengtham, became trapped inside the wreckage. Rescue workers used cutting tools to free him before he was transported to a local hospital.
Phongphet told authorities that he was driving and failed to notice the vehicles stopped at a red light ahead of him. He was unable to brake in time and collided heavily with the car in front.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident and will proceed with legal action as appropriate.
