Boy driving truck crashes into group of monks, killing 8 and injuring 14
Police said the boy had taken his parents' pickup truck without permission before losing control of the vehicle and crashing into the monks.
Updated on: July 2, 2026 / 12:58 PM EDT / CBS/AP
An 11-year-old boy crashed a pickup truck into a group of monks on a pilgrimage walk in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing nine and injuring 13 others, officials said.
A total of 35 monks from Mukdahan province, about 600 kilometers northeast of the capital Bangkok, were on the pilgrimage. Five monks were killed at the site, while three others died at a hospital, according to Mukdahan Governor Worrayan Boonnarat. The office later announced the death of a ninth monk.
Thirteen were hospitalized with three in critical condition, according to the provincial administration.
The group started the 260-kilometer walk to Ubon Ratchathani province about 30 minutes before the crash.
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.