PATHUM THANI: 30-year-old Jakrawan Sukhumkanchana was later given the all-clear at a local hospital by medics where he reported with chest pains after he swam to the bank of the klong and scrambled up. The scene drew a lot of onlookers.
A 30-year-old Thai man drove his ฿24 million Lamborghini into a klong or canal on Tuesday evening after swerving suddenly to avoid a dangerous driver.
Police were called to an unlikely scene near the Wat Jindaram Temple in the Thanyaburi District of Pathum Thai in central Thailand on Tuesday evening at approximately 5.30 pm.
There, they discovered a submerged Lamborghini supercar valued at over ฿24 million. The car was not completely underwater and its engine was still running.
The police at the scene were led by Police Colonel Wiwat Atsawawiboonn of Thanyaburi police.
Witnesses to the incident saw the driver scrambling up to the road and complaining of chest pains
Several witnesses were found among a large crowd gathered on the bank of the klong to see the supercar registration ชม 7 (chor-mor) in its unlikely position.
One of the witnesses was a 45-year-old Thai woman named Benya.
She told reporters that she saw the striking car on a regular basis on the road and that, as usual, it was travelling at a responsible, sedate speed.
However, then she said she heard a loud bang and shortly afterwards saw the owner, 30-year-old Jakrawan Sukhumkanchana, scrambling up the bank of the klong after having emerged from his car.
She said the man complained of chest pains and onlookers assisted him in getting to a hospital.
Driver given the all-clear by medics and returned to the scene to take care of his expensive car
Mr Jakrawan was given the all-clear at the hospital by medics and then returned to assess the damage to his car.
He told police that he had been driving along the route, just off the main motorway as normal on Tuesday at 5 pm, when a car cut across him suddenly.
In order to avoid a collision, he had swerved and his Lamborghini had pitched itself into the water.
The bang heard by the public was the noise as the exhaust went beneath the water as the car plunged in.
Police say the owner was lucky as drought meant klong waters were at a historic low this week
Later, a somewhat relieved Mr Jakrawan revealed that his insurance would cover the incident and that his Lamborghini was being removed from the klong to a nearby repair shop.
Police at Thanyaburi say that the driver and owner of the luxury car may have got lucky as the current drought means that the water level in the klong is at a historic low which allowed him to exit quite easily and did not completely submerge the car.
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