Pictures courtesy of Daily News

A six-year-old girl has died after being struck by a car while using a pedestrian crossing outside her school in Buriram province, in a case that has prompted renewed concern over road safety near schools. The child, was hit as she was crossing the road to attend classes, suffering critical injuries and later dying in hospital.

The incident occurred on 22 January in front of Ban Dong Yor School in Pakhiap subdistrict, Khu Mueang district, Buriram. The vehicle involved was a white Toyota saloon car registered in Nakhon Ratchasima, driven by Ms Kanokwan, a 32-year-old female teacher. The car struck the child on the zebra crossing as she was walking to school.

The injured girl was rushed to Buriram Hospital, where doctors attempted to save her life. Despite medical treatment, she later died from her injuries. Her parents, overwhelmed with grief, jointly decided to donate her body to the Thai Red Cross Society as a final act of merit-making, with only her two eyes able to be donated to help others.

The child’s grandfather explained that the girl’s mother took her to school by motorcycle every day. On the day of the incident, the child asked to dropped off and cross the road by herself and her mother agreed because the location was a marked pedestrian crossing. As the girl reached the middle of the road and waited for traffic in the opposite lane to stop, the teacher’s car reportedly struck her with force.

The grandfather said the family did not wish to place blame on the driver, noting that she was unfamiliar with the route. However, he raised concerns that the area lacked traffic lights or clear warning signals indicating a school zone, and urged relevant agencies to address the issue to prevent future tragedies.

Daily News reported that authorities are continuing to handle the case according to legal procedures, while the community has renewed calls for improved safety measures outside schools.

Key Takeaways

• A six-year-old pupil died after being hit on a zebra crossing outside her school in Buriram.

• The car was driven by a 32-year-old teacher who was reportedly unfamiliar with the route.

• The child’s parents donated her body to the Thai Red Cross Society as a final act of merit.

Related stories

Elderly-woman-killed-by-car-while-crossing-road-in-Pathum-Thani

71-year-old-pedestrian-killed-by-motorcycle-near-footbridge

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Dailynews 2026-01-24

 

 

39 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

the teacher’s car reportedly struck her with force.

The grandfather said the family did not wish to place blame on the driver, noting that she was unfamiliar with the route.

So what ?

The damage to the car indicates quite a speed at impact. A 6 year old is veey small so to do that kind of damage the car must have been travelling quite fast.

Knowing the route is irrelevant. She was in a school zone travelling at a high rate of speed.

The car did not do anything.. It was the driver... and as usual zebra crossings are to decorate the roads in Thailand, nobodycares about it

The teacher should be charged with manslaughter.

But, TIT, money will exchange hands and all will be settled. End of story

In a country that takes road safety seriously, that incident would result in a long prison sentence.

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

d because the location was a marked pedestrian crossing.

I only see one sign leaning over and barely visible, not that it is really an excuse, I often wonder here on Koh Chang where there a no signs anywhere at all before crossings, who would be to blame if someone got hit. RIP young one.

My sympathy to the family.

Teachers especially, should be aware of driving near schools when children are likely to be present!

"...As the girl reached the middle of the road and waited for traffic in the opposite lane to stop, the teacher’s car reportedly struck her with force..."

Change (and, enforce) the law, or just remove the useless zebra crossings altogether!

In BKK, some crossings also have traffic lights - BUT, many choose to simply ignore these and continue on through the red light!

Thais are so stupid that they think that just painting some stripes on the road makes it magically safe for pedestrians to cross. No, you have to actually make the motorists respect the crossings with supervision and heavy penalties. In the current environment, the zebra crossings in Thailand just make the roads less safe for pedestrians, as a they give a false sense of safety.

Also, what does being unfamiliar with a route have to do with anything? Does that mean that only people who are familiar with a route need to follow traffic rules in Thailand??

On 1/24/2026 at 11:50 AM, Antti said:

Thais are so stupid that they think that just painting some stripes on the road makes it magically safe for pedestrians to cross. No, you have to actually make the motorists respect the crossings with supervision and heavy penalties. In the current environment, the zebra crossings in Thailand just make the roads less safe for pedestrians, as a they give a false sense of safety.

Also, what does being unfamiliar with a route have to do with anything? Does that mean that only people who are familiar with a route need to follow traffic rules in Thailand??

The rationale used for apportioning blame in this country only really makes any sense if you are Thai. Any sane person would be jumping up and down for improved signage and a punishment for the driver that befits the crime.

The reality is, according to the report, the little girl was standing in the middle of the road, clearly visible, while she waited for traffic on the other side of the road to pass ( those drivers ALSO ignoring the pedestrian crossing) when the teachers car literally just mowed her down.

It can only be that the teacher literally wasn’t looking where she was going and would have hit anything in the road.

So sad and unfortunately, so repeatable.

RIP little girl.

On 1/24/2026 at 4:39 AM, Georgealbert said:

Pictures courtesy of Daily News

A six-year-old girl has died after being struck by a car while using a pedestrian crossing outside her school in Buriram province, in a case that has prompted renewed concern over road safety near schools. The child, was hit as she was crossing the road to attend classes, suffering critical injuries and later dying in hospital.

The incident occurred on 22 January in front of Ban Dong Yor School in Pakhiap subdistrict, Khu Mueang district, Buriram. The vehicle involved was a white Toyota saloon car registered in Nakhon Ratchasima, driven by Ms Kanokwan, a 32-year-old female teacher. The car struck the child on the zebra crossing as she was walking to school.

The injured girl was rushed to Buriram Hospital, where doctors attempted to save her life. Despite medical treatment, she later died from her injuries. Her parents, overwhelmed with grief, jointly decided to donate her body to the Thai Red Cross Society as a final act of merit-making, with only her two eyes able to be donated to help others.

The child’s grandfather explained that the girl’s mother took her to school by motorcycle every day. On the day of the incident, the child asked to dropped off and cross the road by herself and her mother agreed because the location was a marked pedestrian crossing. As the girl reached the middle of the road and waited for traffic in the opposite lane to stop, the teacher’s car reportedly struck her with force.

The grandfather said the family did not wish to place blame on the driver, noting that she was unfamiliar with the route. However, he raised concerns that the area lacked traffic lights or clear warning signals indicating a school zone, and urged relevant agencies to address the issue to prevent future tragedies.

Daily News reported that authorities are continuing to handle the case according to legal procedures, while the community has renewed calls for improved safety measures outside schools.

Key Takeaways

• A six-year-old pupil died after being hit on a zebra crossing outside her school in Buriram.

• The car was driven by a 32-year-old teacher who was reportedly unfamiliar with the route.

• The child’s parents donated her body to the Thai Red Cross Society as a final act of merit.

Related stories

Elderly-woman-killed-by-car-while-crossing-road-in-Pathum-Thani

71-year-old-pedestrian-killed-by-motorcycle-near-footbridge

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Dailynews 2026-01-24

 

 

The driver is an idiot, so are the parents who basically said Mai bpen rai.. it’s ok , the driver didn’t know!! Ffs , that teacher should spend 10 years in jail!

A 6-year-old girl killed by a teacher while crossing a pedestrian crossing on her way to school! Another unbearable story forced upon us :(

On 1/24/2026 at 7:55 AM, JimHuaHin said:

The teacher should be charged with manslaughter.

But, TIT, money will exchange hands and all will be settled. End of story

I agree.. My feeling is that it shouldn’t be up to the “victim” if they wish to pursue legal action criminal action… that should be left to the state prosecutors office … now, on the CIVIL side, sure .. it’s up to the victim if they want to seek civil relief .. that’s fair game.. but I don’t think the victim should be able to decide if there is a criminal charge or not.. I don’t have an issue with the prosecution seeking the input of the victim before making a charging decision, but again, i don’t think it should the victims call if there is a criminal complaint filed or not.

3 minutes ago, new2here said:

I agree.. My feeling is that it shouldn’t be up to the “victim” if they wish to pursue legal action criminal action… that should be left to the state prosecutors office … now, on the CIVIL side, sure .. it’s up to the victim if they want to seek civil relief .. that’s fair game.. but I don’t think the victim should be able to decide if there is a criminal charge or not.. I don’t have an issue with the prosecution seeking the input of the victim before making a charging decision, but again, i don’t think it should the victims call if there is a criminal complaint filed or not.

I agree totally

I lost my daughter when she was 4 - a long time ago and the pain is as if it happened yesterday

My heart goes to the family

RIP

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Regardless of the clearly painted Pedestrian Crossing with signage; what is any driver doing not allowing a pedestrian who is standing in the middle of the road to safely cross. RIP little one.

How any driver can mow down and kill a 6 year old walking slowly on a pedestrian crossing is beyond belief. Minimum 5 years in jail in my opinion.

I cross the road anywhere but these death trap crossings. It's much safer

3 hours ago, tandor said:

Regardless of the clearly painted Pedestrian Crossing with signage; what is any driver doing not allowing a pedestrian who is standing in the middle of the road to safely cross. RIP little one.

Sorry but no. A zebra crossing is a zebra crossing, in any country. Why should we accept that in Thailand it does not mean anythins ? Because TIT ? I wonder how many outraged thai netizens will answer ?

2 minutes ago, Chalong circle said:

Sorry but no. A zebra crossing is a zebra crossing, in any country. Why should we accept that in Thailand it does not mean anythins ? Because TIT ? I wonder how many outraged thai netizens will answer ?

Why ?? - Self preservation when crossing the road...

I don't think anyone is suggesting that we 'should accept' that pedestrian crossings 'do not mean anything' here and that many drivers ignore them... But out of self preservation we 'should understand' that pedestrian crossings are ignored by most drivers - and thus do not hold importance or meaning to them.

Pedestrians having right of way is already written into Thai Road Laws (land traffic act).

Not only 'should' the outrage be huge - as it was with the ophthalmologist who was killed in Jan 2022 it should be ongoing - but society is just too apathetic.

... back after the Jan 2022 incident, there were a few announcements, a few crossings painted - then back to normality - crossing the road at a crossing remained lethal - the vast majority of the population continuing to completely ignore the crossings, and in many cases, ignoring the crossings with traffic lights to such an extent the lights were just deactivated by officials.

When it comes to road safety, society and enforcement are both broken - it could be argued, when it comes to any safety at all.

As a final point - a child of that age should not be crossing a road on her own - certainly not a road where she has to wait at the centre-line for cars to continue passing - as tragic as this is, given awareness of Thailands road safety culture and attitudes to pedestrians - the mother was complicit in not protecting her child (yes, very harsh words, but not untrue).

On 1/24/2026 at 5:56 AM, ikke1959 said:

The car did not do anything.. It was the driver... and as usual zebra crossings are to decorate the roads in Thailand, nobodycares about it

You need to make eye contact with the driver and make sure he will let you go first.

in a case that has prompted renewed concern over road safety near schools.

why only near schools?

45 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

in a case that has prompted renewed concern over road safety near schools.

why only near schools?

Exactly... such comments simply highlight the flawed cultural mindset towards safety when such statements do not raise eyebrows amongst those making them....

Amazing Thailand. Traffic laws are routinely ignored. Doing the daily school run, at one set of traffic lights last week i saw on different occasions 3 articulated lorries do U-turns while the light was clearly on red, They nearly scored a motorcycle once.

27 minutes ago, rickudon said:

Amazing Thailand. Traffic laws are routinely ignored. Doing the daily school run, at one set of traffic lights last week i saw on different occasions 3 articulated lorries do U-turns while the light was clearly on red, They nearly scored a motorcycle once.

Watched by how many policemen ???? 🙈

Zero. To early in the morning, still asleep.

Thailand will never change because the Thai will never learn because the Thai don't care

8 hours ago, Chalong circle said:

Sorry but no. A zebra crossing is a zebra crossing, in any country. Why should we accept that in Thailand it does not mean anythins ? Because TIT ? I wonder how many outraged thai netizens will answer ?

the Thai Road Traffic Act, 1979 says differently.

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On 1/24/2026 at 3:50 PM, Antti said:

Thais are so stupid that they think that just painting some stripes on the road makes it magically safe for pedestrians to cross. No, you have to actually make the motorists respect the crossings with supervision and heavy penalties. In the current environment, the zebra crossings in Thailand just make the roads less safe for pedestrians, as a they give a false sense of safety.

Also, what does being unfamiliar with a route have to do with anything? Does that mean that only people who are familiar with a route need to follow traffic rules in Thailand??

Took the words right out of my mouth. How can anyone possibly even consider forgiving this moron of a so called TEACHER. Go to jail go directly to jail and pay the family whatever money you have in your retirement fund.

On 1/24/2026 at 4:39 AM, Georgealbert said:

he raised concerns that the area lacked traffic lights or clear warning signals indicating a school zone

Yes post a sign Do Not Kill Pedestrians Here that will prevent crosswalk deaths. So simple.