Death Toll Rises to 9 in Truck-Monk Collision in Maha Sarakham

On July 2, 2569 (2026), Vorayanun Bunnaraj, the governor of Maha Sarakham, announced that a pickup truck collision with monks on alms walk resulted in 8 deaths and 12 injuries. The truck involved maintains active insurance with total coverage of approximately 20 million baht. The Provincial Sangha Committee expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, confirming that the monks were conducting their alms walk correctly according to Buddhist discipline, which requires monks to walk facing oncoming traffic for safety. When the accident occurred, the four lead monks spotted the truck losing control and shouted a warning, allowing five monks to escape. However, the truck struck the sixth monk onward, as they were walking in single file as is customary, positioned about 2 meters from the road edge. The truck was traveling at high speed and had lost control. The alms group consisted of 35 monks and 5 lay followers. Five monks died at the scene, and three more died at the hospital, bringing the death toll to 8 initially. The provincial public health officer reported 4 monks with red-tagged injuries and 10 with yellow-tagged injuries. Initial investigation shows the pickup truck has liability insurance, covering deceased monks at 500,000 baht each and injured persons at 80,000 baht each, plus full medical treatment. As of 5:50 p.m., the death toll was updated to 9 monks, identified as Phra Surasak Pinlao.