Elephant vs Pickup Accident: Elephant wins on points

30th October 2009

An unusual accident took place in the dark early morning hours of Thursday on Highway 331 when a 17-year-old female elephant was struck by a pick-up driven by a 30-year-old Thai male. The accident was bad enough to reduce the pick-up to a mangled heap of metal. The elephant managed to remain upright, although the impact did cause her mahout to fall off her neck and onto the road, suffering minor bruising. Dr Alongkorn, a respected veterinarian employed in Royal service, was on the scene to attend to the injured pachyderm within half an hour, having been given a police escort from Bangkok. The doctor said the injured elephant luckily suffered no broken bones but she should be rested as much as possible for the next 10 days or so.

Police who attended the scene talked to the pickup driver who suggested the creature he struck was a pink elephant. Police arrested him after finding the man to be well over the legal alcohol limit.