A 22-year-old woman has died after a speeding sedan hit her while she was gathering rice that had been laid out to dry beside a road in Buriram province. Her relative chased the car to a temple, where it was later found abandoned. That discovery has raised questions about whether a monk who regularly used the vehicle was driving it.

The case came to light after a video circulated online showing a man on a motorcycle chasing a grey sedan after the crash.

The collision

According to the victim's 28-year-old cousin, Khwanchai Rueangphaisan, the crash happened at about 5 p.m. in front of Wat Khok Charoen in Ban Yang subdistrict, Mueang district. The woman, referred to only as “Ji” to protect her privacy, had been picking up rice spread out on the roadside. Khwanchai said the sedan came in fast and struck her with such force that she was thrown more than 10 metres. She suffered multiple leg fractures and was unconscious at the scene.

The driver did not stop or help and drove away. Khwanchai left another relative with the injured woman and set off after the car on a motorcycle, shouting for the driver to stop. The sedan kept going, passed the Thep Nakhon Hotel area and turned down a side street.

The car at the temple

The sedan was eventually found parked inside a temple in Mueang district, roughly 10 kilometres from the crash site. The driver was nowhere to be found, and it is unclear how that person left the temple.

Khwanchai and some local residents believed the car was regularly driven by a monk at the temple, estimated to be around 50 years old. They could not confirm whether he had been behind the wheel during the collision.

Later, they searched a monastic residence they thought might be connected to the driver. They reportedly found white liquor and plates of food, including larb and koi, but no monk. They urged authorities to identify the driver and review the available evidence so that the case reaches a fair outcome.

The family's account

The woman was taken to Buriram Hospital for treatment of her serious injuries but later died, according to her family. Her aunt, 49-year-old Sanan Nokyothin, said she and Ji had spread rice along the road to dry earlier that morning. In the evening, while they were bagging it, some grain spilled. Ji bent down to gather it just as the sedan approached.

The temple's response

Phra Weeraphan Panyasiri, another monk at the temple, confirmed that the car was used by a fellow monk. He said that monk could not be found after the incident and that he did not know where he had gone.

Police have yet to establish who was driving the sedan when the fatal collision took place. The suspected driver's identity and the allegations involving the monk remain unconfirmed pending an official investigation.