Soonthorn Markpone told police that he was on his way to drop his daughter off at school, but could not find parking nearby on the road.
So he decided to drive his Isuzu pick-up truck into the grounds of Wat Wichitsongkhram to look for somewhere to park.
As they drove slowly past the tree there was a loud cracking and the branch landed on the back of the truck with a huge crash. Neither was hurt, but the truck could not be moved and municipal staff with chainsaws had to come and free it.