SHOCK VIDEO: 11-Year-Old Plows Pickup Truck Into Group Of Buddhist Monks, At Least Eight Dead

A group of Buddhist monks was walking single file along a quiet road in northeastern Thailand when a pickup truck slid off the pavement and tore through them.

The driver was 11 years old.

The crash happened July 2, 2026 in Mukdahan province, roughly 600 kilometers, or about 372 miles, from Bangkok. The monks had set out on a religious pilgrimage only about 30 minutes earlier.

Early reports put the death toll at least eight. The number has since climbed higher.

Here is the Clip (Sensitive):

Report on this accident:

An 11-year-old boy crashed a pickup truck into a group of Buddhist monks on a pilgrimage walk in Thailand, killing five people at the scene. Three more later died at the hospital. pic.twitter.com/0IXVp32W9h

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 2, 2026

The monks were on a pilgrimage walk from a temple in Mukdahan toward Ubon Ratchathani province, a journey of about 260 kilometers, or roughly 161 miles. Monks are deeply venerated in Thailand, where public processions and alms-giving are part of everyday life.

Security camera footage shared by a local rescue group showed the monks moving in a tidy single line along the side of the road moments before the truck reached them. Monks who survived told police they saw the vehicle swerving before it slid off the road and struck the group.

The AP now reports that 10 monks have died. Five were killed at the scene and five more died at a hospital.

That updated count matters because the first wave of reporting and social posts carried the lower figure of eight dead while the hospitals were still treating the injured. AP says more than 10 people were hospitalized, with one person still in critical condition.

The AP account places 35 monks from Mukdahan province on the pilgrimage route. The group had only just begun the 260-kilometer walk toward Ubon Ratchathani when the crash happened.

AP also reports that the boy was in custody and that police said his parents may face negligence questions. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with police saying monks described the truck swerving before it slid off the road.

Early on, outlets reported a lower figure while the situation was still developing.

An 11-year-old boy drove a pickup truck into a group of Buddhist monks in Thailand’s Mukdahan province, killing at least eight people. https://t.co/SqFnzasfJc pic.twitter.com/IwaWwr2eWR

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 2, 2026

The New York Post centered its reporting on the disturbing video. It described footage of about 35 monks walking single file along the roadway in Mukdahan before the pickup hit them.

The Post’s early report said the religious group had just set off on the 161-mile trek roughly 30 minutes before the crash. That detail makes the scene even harder to process: the pilgrimage was barely underway when the truck reached them.

In that first count, the Post listed eight dead, with five killed at the scene and three later dying at a hospital. It also said 14 people were hospitalized, including four in critical condition.

The Post reported that the boy was taken into custody and would be questioned by child protection officers. That is the right legal posture here: the video is shocking, but investigators still have to determine exactly how an 11-year-old ended up behind the wheel.

Al Jazeera reported that local police said the 11-year-old took his parents’ vehicle without permission before the crash. Investigators have not stated a motive, and police are still working to establish exactly what happened.

The outlet also carried a survivor’s account from a monk who said he saw the pickup coming while he was chanting. He said he and another monk managed to jump out of the way, while other monks farther back in the line were hit.

Al Jazeera quoted Mukdahan police commander Pairoj Thaiphutsa, who said the suspect is a child and that the vehicle was taken for forensic examination.

That means police are looking at the truck itself along with whatever investigators can learn from the child and his parents.

Pairoj also said police had asked the parents to come in so authorities could determine who was responsible for the child’s care. That is where the investigation may move next, because the central question is how a child got access to the pickup in the first place.

The Guardian reported that Mukdahan governor Vorayan Bunarat said the group of monks and lay followers had been walking from a temple in Mukdahan toward another in neighboring Ubon Ratchathani.

According to that report, police had not filed charges at the time because investigators were still establishing the circumstances, and the boy was in shock and unable to give a statement. Bunarat said the case should serve as a lesson on preventing road accidents, especially for parents.

By Friday, reports outside Thailand were already reflecting different casualty counts as hospitals and local officials updated the toll.

That later post, shared in Turkish, cited nine monks dead as the footage circulated. AP’s updated reporting places the toll at 10.

What remains constant across every account is the horror of the video and the loss behind it. A morning that began with a peaceful walk of faith ended with monks in the road and a child in police custody, and the families in Mukdahan are the ones left to carry it.

What are your thoughts?