An elderly driver crashed into fuel pumps at a petrol station in Bangkok this morning, May 6, causing a fire that destroyed his car and damaged two dispensers. No injuries were reported.
The incident happened at about 7.14am at a Bangchak petrol station on Rama II Soi 94 in Samae Dam subdistrict, Bang Khun Thian district.
Firefighters from Bang Bon Fire and Rescue Station arrived to find a sedan on fire, with the flames spreading to fuel dispensers inside the station. Crews used foam to contain the blaze as staff and customers evacuated the area.
Officials said firefighters took about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control. The sedan was reportedly destroyed, and two fuel dispensers were damaged.
The driver, identified only as 71 year old Sophon, told reporters he had stopped to refuel and inflate his tyres before the crash.
He said he had already inflated one tyre but could not find the valve cap on another wheel. While repositioning the car, he believed he mistakenly shifted gears and pressed the accelerator, causing the vehicle to lunge forward into an air pump.
Sophon said he then attempted to reverse, but the car became stuck against a wheel stop. He pressed the accelerator again, causing the car to reverse into a fuel dispenser before he got out of the vehicle in panic.
CH7 News reported that an employee at the station said staff saw the driver moving the car back and forth several times before it crashed into the fuel dispenser.
Elsewhere, an elderly driver lost control of a pickup truck and crashed into the rear of an oil tanker on Phaholyothin Road in Lampang, killing two people and injuring two others.
The story Elderly driver’s gear mistake starts Bangkok petrol station fire as seen on Thaiger News.
