An 11-year-old boy crashed a pickup truck into a group of monks on a pilgrimage walk in Mukdahan province Thursday, killing eight and injuring 14.
A total of 35 monks from Mukdahan province were on the pilgrimage to Ubon Ratchathani and had started the 260-kilometer walk about 30 minutes before the crash, Mukdahan Governor Worrayan Boonnarat said; five monks were killed at the site, three died at a hospital and 14 were hospitalized, four in critical condition.
Security camera footage shared by a local rescue group, Ruam Jai Mukdahan Rescue Association, shows the monks walking in a single line on the side of a road before the truck crashes into them, and CCTV from a nearby property captured multiple vehicles passing and then the sound of a loud crash.
Local police said the boy had taken his parents' pickup truck without permission before losing control of the vehicle and crashing into the monks, and that he is now in custody and will be questioned when state child protection officers arrive.
"The suspect is a child. The vehicle has been taken for forensic examination to determine the cause," Police Major General Pairoj Thaiphutsa, commander of the Mukdahan Provincial Police, told reporters. "We've asked the child's parents to come in so we can determine who is responsible for the child's care, so we can go on with legal process."
One monk, identified as Phra Sompong, said in a video posted online by local rescue workers, "I saw a boy driving a pickup truck, approaching. At that moment I was chanting 'Buddho, Buddho' (a meditation mantra). Then suddenly the truck hit at full speed and crashed us like this." He added, "Luckily another monk and I managed to jump out of the way in time" and said, "The first nine monks in line survived. But others who were hit were thrown into the air."
Mukdahan provincial governor Worayan Bunnarat said the case should serve as a wider warning on road safety: "We've been very strict on road safety in recent years. This case should be a lesson not just for our province, but for the public in general when it comes to preventing road accidents." He added, "I think everyone involved, especially parents, needs to help, because no one wants something like this to happen."
Deadly transport accidents are common in Thailand, which has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with speeding, drunk driving and weak law enforcement all contributing factors, the report said.