11-year-old boy driving pickup truck crashes into group of Thai monks, killing 8

Newly consecrated Bishops, from left, Marc Hanappier, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Michael Goldade and Pascal Schreiber wearing their miters and holding their pastoral staffs, stand at the end of their consecration ceremony in a tent set up outside the Society of St. Pius X seminary in Econe, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner) 2026-07-02T07:41:57Z Bangkok (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 eight, 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. Fourteen others were hospitalized. Local police said the boy is now in custody. The police said the cause of the accident is still under investigation, but said they were told by the monks that they saw the vehicle losing balance before it slid off the road and crashed into the group.