Thai off-duty nursing assistant fatally hit by truck after stopping to help teens injured in fight

A young nursing assistant was killed while providing medical assistance to a few teenagers who were injured in a clash between two rival groups in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Kanokrat Yottiwong, who worked in the observation ward at a Chiang Mai hospital, was off duty at the time.

This was shared in a tribute post on Facebook by the Faculty of Medicine at Chiang Mai University, where she had studied.

The clash

The incident happened along a highway at about 12:05am on Nov. 1, after the teenagers got into a motorcycle accident.

The local police later found that the two rival groups had had a dispute on social media, then decided to meet and fight it out, Thaiger reported.

Patrol officers broke up the fight, but the teenagers continued to chase one another along Chiang Mai's Highway 11, also known as the Superhighway.

They attacked one another in their vehicles, and several gunshots and explosions were heard, Khaosod reported.

Stopped to help

Yottiwong was riding past the scene on her own motorbike when she noticed that some people were injured and stopped to help them.

While she was providing assistance, a pick-up truck knocked her down.

She was critically injured and later passed away.

According to local media, the truck was driven by a member of one of the rival groups.

The driver told police he did not see Yottiwong because he was driving with his head lowered to avoid getting shot at by the other group, Khaosod reported.

But the police questioned his account and suspected he might have been speeding at the time.

Police investigations are ongoing to identify the people involved.

"Although she was not on duty at the time, her inherent kindness and generous spirit led her to step forward to help those in need — an act that ultimately resulted in her passing," the Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Medicine wrote in their post.

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