A school took kindergarten to grade 6 children and their parents, totaling 100 people, on three songthaews for a field trip. An accident occurred when one songthaew crashed into the back of a pickup truck, injuring one parent. Fortunately, the students were safe.
On 19 Mar 2026 at 08:00, Police Lieutenant Krissada Sawadeeram, Deputy Inspector (Investigation) of Stueng Police Station, Stueng District, Buriram Province, received a report of a vehicle collision with multiple injuries and people trapped inside on the Buriram-Stueng Road near Lako Village, Don Mon Subdistrict, inbound toward Buriram city. Rescue units from Wang Kroot Stueng with cutting equipment were dispatched to assist.
The scene was a four-lane road heading into Buriram city. A six-wheeled passenger vehicle registered in Buriram was parked on the roadside with front-end damage. Dozens of students and parents stood on the roadside grass in shock. Rescue workers checked and confirmed no students were injured.
By the front passenger side of the songthaew, rescue teams found Ms. Monthira, 19, a parent trapped inside the front of the vehicle, unable to exit because the car body was compressed. After about 20 minutes using cutting tools, rescuers freed her. She suffered only minor leg injuries.
The other vehicle involved was an Isuzu pickup truck registered in Buriram, overturned beside the road. A streetlight pole was damaged. Four passengers were found in the pickup truck; all were injured, with two seriously hurt. Rescue teams urgently transported them to Stueng Hospital.
Mr. Thongma, 74, the driver of the six-wheeled passenger vehicle, said he was driving behind when he suddenly steered but did not know how he ended up hitting the back of the pickup truck.
Mrs. Sujitta, 41, the pickup truck driver, said she was traveling with her family of four to work at a fertilizer factory across the road. Suddenly, the six-wheeled passenger vehicle, fully loaded with students and parents, crashed violently into the rear of her truck, causing it to lose control and hit a streetlight pole. Passengers in the truck bed were thrown in different directions.
Ms. Monthira, 19, a parent, said she was sitting in front with her 6-year-old daughter and saw the whole incident. The vehicle she was in crashed hard into the pickup truck’s rear. Fortunately, her daughter was seated in the middle near the driver and was unharmed. Had she been seated on the left side where the vehicle body was crushed, she likely would have been seriously injured.
Ms. Charunthida Sakulchaiya, principal of Sako Sai School in Nikom Subdistrict, Stueng District, Buriram Province, said the school hired three six-wheeled passenger vehicles carrying about 60 students from kindergarten to grade 6, along with about 40 parents and teachers, totaling roughly 100 people. They planned to visit Ban Suan Fruit Gardens, a tourist attraction and children’s dream destination in Muang Faek Subdistrict, Lam Plai Mat District, Buriram. Initially, it appeared the pickup truck cut in front of the songthaew, which was traveling at low speed. After the accident, the school immediately halted the trip because the children and parents were all shaken.