Thai man accidentally accelerates after dropping mum off at temple, hits & kills her

After his mother alighted at the side of the road, a Thai man, 47, accidentally stepped on the gas and hit her.

Pathum Songwannam, 75, was killed by the impact.

The man, Nawi Songwannam, was later seen in tears next to her body, MGR Online reported.

An 11-seater vehicle was observed crashed into a tree.

Temple visit

The family had travelled from Bangkok to Udon Thani province for the holidays.

On the morning of Jul. 11, the family decided to go to the temple to offer alms.

As the temple was crowded, Nawi dropped his mother off on the roadside first so she could get started with her almsgiving.

Nawi then made a U-turn and drove back to the area to wait for his mother.

But instead of stopping, he accelerated and hit Pathum.

She had been waiting for her turn to offer alms, according to the man's sister, Phon.

Phon had been standing nearby, but managed to jump out of the way in time.

An accident

The police arrived to the scene to see Nawi breaking down at the roadside next to his mother's body.

He claimed it had been an accident, and was in tears when speaking to the media afterward, Sin Chew Daily reported.

"I wanted my mother to go on a holiday happily. But I didn't know that I would cause a tragedy with my own hands, and end up having to bring her body home," he said.

He was charged with reckless driving causing death.

Top image from MGR Online