Eleven-year-old boy crashes pickup truck into pilgrimage walk, killing eight Buddhist monks in Thailand
An 11-year-old boy driving his parents' pickup truck without permission struck a group of Buddhist monks on a pilgrimage in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing at least eight and injuring 14, four of them critically.
The collision
Around 11:55 a.m. on Thursday, 2 July 2026, a bronze Isuzu single-cab pickup truck ploughed into a column of Buddhist monks walking along the Mukdahan–Don Tan Road near Ban Na Wiang Kae in Na Si Nuan subdistrict, Mueang district. The monks were part of a group of 35 from Mukdahan province, about 600 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, accompanied by five lay faithful. They had begun a 260-kilometre pilgrimage walk to Nam Khun district, Ubon Ratchathani province, roughly 30 minutes earlier. Security camera footage released by the Ruam Jai Mukdahan Rescue Association shows the monks walking single file on the road verge when the pickup veers off the road and strikes them from behind.
Five monks were pronounced dead at the crash site. Three others died later at Mukdahan Hospital. Fourteen additional monks were injured and taken to hospital, four of them in critical condition. The bodies were moved to the hospital mortuary while authorities worked to contact next of kin.
The driver and investigation
Residents alerted Pol Col Prayut Rueanthongkham, superintendent of Mueang Mukdahan Police Station, to the crash. Rescue workers from several local units, the Mukdahan Charity Foundation, and police were dispatched to the scene. Officers found the damaged pickup, which an 11-year-old boy had taken from his family’s home without permission, alongside injured monks. The boy was detained and taken to Muang district police station, where police said questioning would proceed only with state child-protection officers present. Thai media reported that the boy is a special-needs child who took his father’s vehicle.
The suspect is a child.
Local police chief Pairoj Thaiphutsa told journalists the vehicle was seized for forensic examination to determine the cause of the accident. According to police, eyewitness monks reported that the truck was swerving before it lost balance and veered off the road. The investigation remains ongoing.
Road safety warning
Mukdahan Governor Worayan Bunnarat described the event as a tragedy and said it should send a clear warning about road safety across Thailand.
I think everyone concerned, especially parents, must take responsibility, because no one wants such a tragedy to happen.
Pilgrimage walks are a longstanding Buddhist tradition in Thailand. Monks often trek long distances on foot to visit temples housing relics, to meditate, or to attend religious ceremonies. In the overwhelmingly Buddhist kingdom, monks are held in high public esteem.
- Monks begin a 260 km pilgrimage walk toward Ubon Ratchathani province.
- 11-year-old boy driving parents' pickup truck loses control and crashes into the line of monks.
- Five monks pronounced dead at the scene, three others die in hospital; boy taken into police custody.
