Irish Filmmaker & GF Killed in Thailand Crash

sad facts:

Key Statistics

• Daily Toll: An average of 38 to 40 people die every day in Thailand from motorcycle accidents.

• Age Demographics: The highest number of fatalities occurs among young adults and youths between the ages of 15 and 29.

• Primary Cause: Head injuries are the leading cause of death, with the Department of Disease Control reporting that over 80% of injured riders involved in fatalities were not wearing helmets. [1, 2, 3, 4]

An accident with a tragic outcome, is always sad. However, this guy was a film maker so they just talked about his work. Unknown people get the info of the accident spread in the news.

What a waste...............................

Cracking short film, suspense, macarbe and use of light and sound particulalrly impressive, a fabulous Irish take on the classic...award well justified I imagine...........

A very sad story, and yet another too-frequent reminder of how quickly things turn tragic on Thai roads.

Two young people with their whole lives ahead of them. Especially tragic, as here was someone who clearly had real talent in the film world.

Road safety in Thailand is still a massive issue, and accidents involving motorbikes are the main contributor.

Stories like this can only serve to underline the need for much greater caution, whether you’re a local or a visitor.

May they both rest in peace.

Saw the headline and immediately thought, motorcycle accident. Tourists should be banned from renting motorcycles, as Bali has done.

Saddening. RIP.

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Young Irish filmmaker Max Hendrickson, 20, from Cabra in north Dublin, has died alongside his Czech girlfriend in a road crash in Thailand. The tragedy occurred while the couple were travelling on a scooter during a trip abroad.

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Mr Hendrickson was a second-year BA in Film student at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire. He had already earned national recognition in Ireland’s film industry after being named Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year in 2023 at the age of 17.

His award-winning animated short film, The Tell-Tale Heart, re-imagined the Edgar Allan Poe story and drew praise for its direction and storytelling. Mr Hendrickson had been submitting work to the Fresh International Film Festival since he was 12 years old and credited the event with inspiring him to continue making films.

Picture courtesy of Irish Independent

Speaking after his 2023 award win, he said: “I have been submitting to the Fresh International Film Festival since I was 12 and it has consistently provided the inspiration and motivation for me to keep making movies.”

He added: “It has been absolutely amazing to attend every year and meet other young filmmakers and I urge all aspiring filmmakers to submit their work to Fresh.”

Mr Hendrickson had also received the Outstanding Animation award at Ireland’s Junior Filmmaker of the Year in 2018. According to his LinkedIn profile, he had created 10 short films since the age of 12, screened at more than 100 film festivals nationally and internationally, and won over 40 awards.

In 2023, he was selected as a Featured Artist at the Irish Museum of Modern Art for a short animation created for the IMMA Earth Rising Festival. His animation work was also broadcast on RTÉ2 as part of the Fresh International Film Festival awards programme and remains available on YouTube.

Tributes were paid to the young filmmaker following news of his death. Labour TD for Dublin Central Marie Sherlock said: “Max was an incredibly talented filmmaker and obviously this is devastating for the family. Our hearts go out to them.”

Sinn Féin councillor for Cabra Séamas McGrattan said local people were shocked by the news. He said: “People are shocked. This was such a young, talented man. He was only 17 when he won that film award. It’s just a very sad loss.”

Fresh International Film Festival Director Jayne Foley had previously praised Mr Hendrickson’s development as a storyteller and filmmaker. In 2023, she said the festival had watched him grow over five years and predicted he would feature strongly in Ireland’s filmmaking and animation industries.

The Irish Independent newspaper reported that a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was aware of the case and was providing consular assistance.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Independent 20 May 2026

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Rest in peace, dear fellow citizen. Life was too short for you 💔🍀

Absolutely tragic.

But 98% avoidable if you stay off scooters, which are 20-40x as dangerous (per km) as traveling in 4 wheels, with seatbelts.

And that's not just in Thailand...

Lots of comments blaming the bike, most times it's incompetent riders who are to blame.

The second best thing to do in Thailand is ride a motorbike.

I sorta feel sorry for those who have never tried it, sounds like a boring place to be. Anyway, stay away from the motorbikes if you ain't got the skills.

Very sad. Unfortunately there is a lot of talk of his talent as a film maker, but very little about his skills as a motorbike rider on Thailands very dangerous roads. Of course the accident may not have been his fault.

Banning tourists from riding motorbikes maybe the only way to save their lives, but I doubt it will happen. Meantime the carnage will continue unabated as an inexhaustible supply of young people decide that Thailand is a good place to ride a motorbike.

Too bad. Riding motorcycles in Thailand is dangerous if you know what your doing; fatal if you don't.

Kid HAD a bright future I think.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12416325

Off topic post removed @IsmeUno discuss the topic not other posters

RIP Very sad news for these two youngsters may god reunite you in his beautiful garden amen

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

Thailand is a good place to LEARN TO ride a motorbike.

FTFY.

The lad was 20 and still thought he knew everything. As we don't seem to have any details of the collision it is difficult to know if inexperience was at fault but being 20 might give us a clue.

Lots of nonsense about his education and future but nothing about how many bikes he had crashed before. Experience is the best teacher.

Girlfriend on the back moving about taking footage and /or photos et al. We don't know.

6 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

An accident with a tragic outcome, is always sad. However, this guy was a film maker so they just talked about his work. Unknown people get the info of the accident spread in the news.

This was not reported by the Thai press, that would be why. Complain to the Irish Independent.

We know nothing of the accident itself. So it’s difficult to comment on that. Just sad, and he seemed to be a talented filmmaker with a bright future. What a shame.

I remember renting a motor bike in some Greek island when I was younger, zipping from beach to beach, and I didn’t give it much serious thought. Knowing what I know now, I doubt I’d do it again.

4 hours ago, newnative said:

Tourists should be banned from renting motorcycles, as Bali has done.

This is actually a good idea. At most, you should only be allowed to rent a bike or car if you can produce a valid Thai or international licence for that type/class of vehicle.

Yes, the bike rental shops would squeal but it would go a long way toward improving the accident rate amongst visitors and after time deliver a boost to Thailand's reputation and safety... along with fewer unpaid hospital bills and Go-Fund-Me pleas. It would also force visitors to use public transport and channel more money into a more diverse array of transport providers in the economy, from taxis to trains to busses to tuk-tuks to all sorts, which helps locals earn more money. Personally, I wouldn't even consider renting a motorbike here these days as just too dangerous... four-wheeled transport only.

7 hours ago, pomchop said:

sad facts:

Key Statistics

• Daily Toll: An average of 38 to 40 people die every day in Thailand from motorcycle accidents.

• Age Demographics: The highest number of fatalities occurs among young adults and youths between the ages of 15 and 29.

• Primary Cause: Head injuries are the leading cause of death, with the Department of Disease Control reporting that over 80% of injured riders involved in fatalities were not wearing helmets. [

  , 2,

  , 4]

Only a fool and an idiot gets on a motorbike in Thailand. But yet you see many foreigners ride motorbikes.

Tourist accidents on motorbikes happens frequently and the price they pay for it is often their lives or long hospital stays and expensive hospital bill they can't pay. It is difficult enough for the locals who do not have transportation options to stay safe on the roads here.

If someone is visiting Thailand for a short holiday, they really don't need to take the risk by getting a motorbike that could quickly turn into the biggest mistake they will ever make. If they can't afford other local transportation then pick another destination or stay home.

Unfortunately, for this young Brit who likely had a bright future, it's too late and laws should be changed to stop this from happening over and over again in the future.

7 hours ago, Off Piste said:

What a waste...............................

Cracking short film, suspense, macarbe and use of light and sound particulalrly impressive, a fabulous Irish take on the classic...award well justified I imagine...........

7 hours ago, Off Piste said:

What a waste...............................

Cracking short film, suspense, macarbe and use of light and sound particulalrly impressive, a fabulous Irish take on the classic...award well justified I imagine...........

What a waste of clearly great potential. RIP.

1 hour ago, Front Row said:

We know nothing of the accident itself. So it’s difficult to comment on that. Just sad, and he seemed to be a talented filmmaker with a bright future. What a shame.

I remember renting a motor bike in some Greek island when I was younger, zipping from beach to beach, and I didn’t give it much serious thought. Knowing what I know now, I doubt I’d do it again.

Hm, .. Yes, but Greece is not Thailand !!

18 minutes ago, cynic1 said:

What a waste of clearly great potential. RIP.

18 minutes ago, cynic1 said:

What a waste of clearly great potential. RIP.

18 minutes ago, cynic1 said:

What a waste of clearly great potential. RIP.

A sad loss of 2 very young people

Condolence to what I am sure are their devastated familes

RIP

1 hour ago, jimgilly said:

Unfortunately, for this young Brit who likely had a bright future, it's too late and laws should be changed to stop this from happening over and over again in the future.

He was Irish and she was Czech.

Three-quarters of all road fatalities in Thailand are motorcycle operators and/or passengers. WHO has also regularly classified Thailand as having the worst road casualties per capita globally.

https://www.april-international.com/en/long-term-international-health-insurance/guide/motorbike-accidents-in-thailand

Max Hendrickson, 20, from Cabra in north Dublin, was killed alongside his partner when their rented scooter skidded on a rain-soaked mountain curve on Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest peak, located in Chiang Mai province. The incident occurred during wet weather conditions that are common in the mountainous regions of northern Thailand during certain seasons.

https://www.thailandnews.co/2026/05/irish-filmmaker-and-czech-girlfriend-killed-in-chiang-mai-scooter-crash/

What a tragic loss of a young talented life.

RIP Max and your GF. .....

1 hour ago, off road pat said:

Hm, .. Yes, but Greece is not Thailand !!

That’s very true! And at that time I was on some sleepy little island. (Don’t ask me which one. It was a long time ago.) But no helmet, no motorcycle license, probably no travel insurance coverage for that. Lucky perhaps to get away with just a bad sunburn / windburn. 😆

3 hours ago, Screaming said:

Only a fool and an idiot gets on a motorbike in Thailand. But yet you see many foreigners ride motorbikes.

... and what of the fools and idiots who make sweeping generalisations like yours ?????

Risk is elevated - but your comment is akin to suggesting only fools and idiots cross a road in Thailand when someone is hit at a pedestrian crossing.

1 hour ago, ronnie50 said:

Three-quarters of all road fatalities in Thailand are motorcycle operators and/or passengers. WHO has also regularly classified Thailand as having the worst road casualties per capita globally.

Also consider how representative those aggregate statistics are to an individual rider’s actual risk profile.

An experienced rider who has lived here a long time develops a much better instinct for the chaos and unpredictability that can unfold on the roads at any moment. If you ride defensively, avoid speeding, don’t ride at night, never ride drunk, stay off the roads in heavy rain, and ride within both the road conditions and your own ability, your personal risk drops significantly.

None of that makes riding here risk-free, and it’s still unquestionably more dangerous than driving a car. But when weighed against the convenience and practicality, the real-world risk for a sensible, experienced rider may be far less alarming than the broader headline and per-capita statistics suggest.

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

But when weighed against the convenience and practicality, the real-world risk for a sensible, experienced rider may be far less alarming than the broader headline and per-capita statistics suggest.

True, to a point. Like you say it's the dummies that ride like idiots don't practice any safety weave in and out, no helmet thaat make up the aggregate of the fatalities. But while you might be much more careful and midful, it's the other guy who is the wild card to your own safety - no matter how safe you operate.