Pictures courtesy of responders.

 

A road crash in Ayuttaya has claimed the lives of three children and left several others seriously injured after a lorry slammed into the back of a motorcycle sidecar taxi carrying schoolchildren.

 

The incident occurred on the morning of 22 July, on the Khlong Raphiphat–Phra-In Watergate Road, near Wat Monthon Prasit in Wang Noi district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province. Police Lieutenant Colonel Tharanthorn Thiangtham, investigating officer at Wang Noi Police Station, responded to the emergency call alongside rescue teams from Wang Noi Hospital.

 

 

Upon arrival at the scene, officers found the front of a six-wheeled truck severely damaged, its cab plunged into a roadside ditch. Nearby, a heavily damaged saleng, a three-wheeled motorcycle and sidecar used locally to transport passengers, lay in the middle of the road.

 

Two students, one boy and one girl, were pronounced dead at the scene. Five others, including the saleng driver, suffered serious injuries and were rushed to Wang Noi Hospital. One child and the passenger travelling in the lorry succumbed to their injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital. Two of the remaining injured children are in a critical condition.

 

Initial investigations suggest the lorry was travelling at high speed as it crossed a bridge and failed to slow down before rear-ending the saleng, which had stopping to turn left to drop off the children. Disturbingly, no skid marks were found at the scene, suggesting the lorry driver did not brake before impact. The force of the collision threw the children from the vehicle, scattering them across the road.

 

Local residents who witnessed the crash confirmed the saleng was slowing down to check and  oncoming traffic to pass before making the turn. They described the lorry as speeding down the bridge before colliding with the slowing vehicle.

 

 

Authorities have confirmed that all three deceased children were the children of migrant workers. Investigators are continuing to question the lorry driver and examine the vehicle to determine the exact cause.

 

Police have recorded all evidence as part of the investigation and have stated that legal proceedings will follow once full findings are established.

 

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Daily News 2025-07-22

 

 

 

So sad, I see every day kids going to school in those sidecars and on old motorcycles. and sometimes dying on their way to school being hit by a truck, a Mercedes benz, a lorry.

 

they are all poor and their parents at least is sending them to school, while many other poor parents let their kids just do nothing.

This really need to change.