Friends of William Braid, 54, have said he urgently needs blood supplies after doctors were forced to amputate his legs following a horror accident with a lorry in Thailand
A British man is comatose and fighting for his life following a horror accident in which both of his legs were crushed underneath a massive lorry.
William Braid, a retired teacher from Arbroath, Scotland, was thrown from his bike during a midnight ride in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 27, and sent skidding across the tarmac following the hit-and-run with a 20-wheeler. Chilling dashcam footage captured the moment the 54-year-old expat was flung across the ground while passing through an intersection, before being run over by the huge vehicle.
Audio from the clip captures a shocking thud just moments after his bike is caught under the lorry, with sparks seen flying during the collision. It comes after a woman claimed ‘my husband seemed confused on Christmas holiday – then he died in front of me’.
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The distressing footage also shows the actions of terrified onlookers, who can be seen rushing rapidly to the man’s side before they call for an ambulance. He was quickly whisked to the Phramongkutklao Hospital, where doctors were forced to amputate both of his legs as his main arteries were crushed, “making it impossible for his body to eliminate waste”.
Despite the lifesaving measures taken by medics, he remains critically injured, and is still in hospital, where he is comatose and battling kidney failure.
Friends of the expat have said he is in urgent need of A-negative blood, a rare type found in just 70,000 Thai residents, with supplies already running thin. Speaking to the Daily Mail, pal Ava Vora issued an appeal for help, saying: “Willie’s blood type is very rare in Thailand, just 0.1 per cent of people have A Negative. The doctors have run out of blood donations for him.
“But there are many more Western people with this blood. We hope that somebody here will donate, or someone can come to Thailand to help him.”
While his friends appeal for additional information, local police have launched a search for the driver of the lorry involved in the collision, who fled the scene following the accident, having allegedly failed to stop.
Lieutenant Chanon Kaewsom from the Phaya Thai Police Station said in a statement that the service is reviewing security camera footage, but added none have adequately captured the incident. He said: “We are currently reviewing security camera footage. We’ve already received footage from the government and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cameras.
“Unfortunately, none of them captured the moment of the crash – just the truck passing through. However, we have footage from the dashcam, but the licence plate was not visible due to glare from the lights.
“The victim is in a critical condition, and both his legs are severely damaged. If we receive any new leads or evidence, we will do everything we can to track down the truck owner.”
You can donate to the GoFundMe for William here.