Images have surfaced online showing a mysterious individual throwing a rock from an unfinished bridge at vehicles on Rama II Road, which has been under scrutiny for a series of fatal incidents.
The person who submitted the video suggested the offender was a construction worker, a claim the contractor for the project in the area quickly denied.
The video and photos were submitted along with a message to the popular Facebook page Drama-addict, which has 3.4 million followers.
According to the source of the video, the apparent male figure was spotted while a driver was on the way to Bangmod Hospital, passing by Central Rama II, on Friday afternoon.
About 10 seconds into the video, a hard object, believed to be a rock, can be heard striking the front window of a moving car.
The post stated that the driver’s son noticed the individual on the bridge before the incident and claimed he saw the figure throw the rock. The message suggested the person was tossing debris from the construction site and missed their intended target area.
Believing the individual to be a construction worker, the submitter advised other drivers to exercise caution and urged authorities to take serious action. It was noted that the alleged worker was on the roof of the bridge without safety equipment, heightening the danger of the situation.
In response to the report, the Rama III Contract 2 Facebook page posted a statement indicating the contractor had reviewed its surveillance video from March 21 and confirmed that the incident occurred.
However, no construction work was being done on the bridge at the time, and an outside person matching the description was seen entering the site, it said.
Confirming the individual was not a worker on-site, the contractor announced that it would enhance precautions against trespassers. The post included screenshots from the video to support its statement.
On March 15, six people were killed and about 20 others injured when a concrete beam fell from an under-construction expressway bridge near Rama II Road in Chom Thong district of Bangkok fell.
The bridge was part of the Rama III-Dao Khanong-Outer Bangkok Ring Road elevated expressway, which is intended to ease traffic congestion on Rama II Road.
Chronic problem
Rama II Road is the main and most direct road connecting Bangkok with the southern region, including the resort town of Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. Government officials agree that congestion on Rama II hurts tourism, as local and foreign visitors often opt for other destinations to avoid traffic jams.
The construction of an expressway above the road from Bangkok to Samut Sakhon is intended to cut travel time, but delays in the work and frequent mishaps and road closures have caused even more congestion, especially on weekends and long public holidays.
Previous construction accidents on Rama II Road have resulted in fatalities. One of the accidents took place on Nov 29 last year when a sling broke, resulting in six deaths and eight injuries. Another accident took place on Jan 18 last year when a sling snapped, killing a worker and causing the crane’s lifting basket to fall. In May 2023, a worker was killed by a falling concrete slab.
According to the Department of Highways, from 2018 to March 15 this year, there have been over 2,500 accidents on Rama II Road from km 0 to km 84, resulting in 144 deaths and 1,440 injuries.
