Thailand Pickup Crash Kills 9 Monks as 11-Year-Old Took Parents' Truck

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 2

Nine Buddhist monks are now confirmed dead after a pickup driven by an 11-year-old hit a pilgrimage procession in Mukdahan province; five died at the scene and four later in hospital.
Police said the boy took his parents' truck without permission while home sick and alone, then lost control and plowed into 35 monks and five lay followers walking along the road.
Three monks remain in critical condition, at least five others were seriously hurt, and Mukdahan Hospital has appealed for urgent blood donations for the injured.
Authorities said the vehicle is undergoing forensic examination and they are still determining legal steps for the child, whom police told BBC Thai is being cared for by guardians, a doctor and officials.
The death toll rose from eight in earlier reports, and the provincial governor cast the crash as a broader road-safety warning for Thailand, where public monk processions are common.