A covered pickup truck delivering ice collided with a wild elephant in Khao Yai. The vehicle was badly damaged, and the driver was injured. The frightened elephant fled into the forest. The head of Khao Yai National Park ordered the park patrol team to track and find ways to assist the wild elephant.
In the early morning of 4 Jan 2026 GMT+7, Police Lieutenant Sarath Suphanphet, deputy investigator at Mu Si Police Station, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, received a report from Mr. Chaiya Huayhongthong, head of Khao Yai National Park, and Ms. Ratchanee Chokcharoen, assistant chief of the park and head of the park management zone 1 (Pak Chong checkpoint), about a vehicle-elephant collision at the junction leading to the Mun Watershed Research Station in front of the Speckdic Hotel on the Woe Plakang–Dairy Home road (Phu Suek–Kut Kha), Moo 10, Mu Si Subdistrict. The vehicle was damaged, and the driver was injured and trapped inside. The elephant is believed to have been injured by the impact and fled into the park forest.
Upon receiving the report, the police and the Sawang Vichatham Rescue volunteers promptly went to the scene. They found a white Toyota Vigo covered pickup truck delivering ice, registered in Bangkok, parked on the road. Vehicle debris was scattered across the road. The front of the vehicle was crushed with a shattered windshield.
The driver, Mr. Suriya, 63, from Thap Sakae District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, was found injured and trapped inside. Rescue workers urgently freed him from the vehicle, noting a severe head wound with bleeding. He was rushed to Bangkok–Pak Chong Hospital. The vehicle was taken to Mu Si Police Station.
Mr. Chaiya, head of Khao Yai National Park, ordered the park patrol team to track and assist the injured wild elephant to assess the severity of its injuries. He also urged drivers on roads around the park and Thanarat Road to exercise caution, especially at night when some areas lack lighting. Drivers should slow down and be alert as wildlife, including elephants and gaur, may be crossing. Warning signs are posted to prevent loss of life and property for both humans and wildlife.
Police Lieutenant Sarath said that inquiries with local residents near the scene revealed that the vehicle had traveled from the Thanarat Road traffic light at Ban Kut Kha, heading along Phu Suek Road toward Klang Dong. The wild elephant likely came out to feed in the early evening and was crossing back into Khao Yai National Park territory at dawn, about 500 meters from the accident site. The driver probably did not see the elephant, resulting in the serious collision. This road runs along the park boundary and has previously been the site of fatal collisions between pickup trucks and wild elephants several years ago.