HOUSTON (AP) — A gaggle of Buddhist monks in the course of a 2,300-mile (3,700-kilometer) stroll throughout the US to advertise peace deliberate to renew their journey after two of them had been injured throughout a site visitors accident close to Houston, a spokesperson for the group stated Thursday.
The gathering of about two dozen monks started their stroll on Oct. 26 from Fort Value, Texas, to “elevate consciousness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion throughout America and the world,” in line with the group, Stroll for Peace.
The monks deliberate to journey by way of 10 states earlier than reaching Washington, D.C.
To date, the monks have visited numerous Texas cities on their trek, together with Austin and Houston, usually strolling alongside roads and highways whereas being escorted by regulation enforcement or by a car trailing behind them, stated Lengthy Si Dong, a spokesperson for the group.
The monks are being accompanied on their journey by their canine Aloka.
At round 6:13 p.m. Wednesday, the monks had been strolling alongside the aspect of US Freeway 90 close to Dayton, Texas, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Houston, when their escort car, which had its hazard lights on, was hit by a truck, stated Dayton Interim Police Chief Shane Burleigh.
The truck “didn’t discover how gradual the car was going, tried to make an evasive maneuver to drive across the car, and didn’t do it in time,” Burleigh stated.
“It struck the escort car within the rear left, pushed the escort into two of the monks.”
One of many monks has “substantial leg accidents” and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Houston, Burleigh stated.
The opposite monk with much less severe accidents was taken by ambulance to a different hospital in suburban Houston.
In a video posted on Stroll for Peace’s Fb web page, an unidentified spokeswoman for the group stated essentially the most severely injured monk was anticipated to have a sequence of surgical procedures to heal a damaged bone, however his prognosis for restoration was good.
The group stated the monk’s surgical procedure on Thursday went effectively.
“He’s in good spirits. He’s giving us thumbs-up,” the spokeswoman stated. The situation of the opposite monk was not instantly identified.
The monks, who camped in a single day close to Dayton, deliberate to renew their stroll “with steadfast dedication,” Stroll for Peace stated.
“We kindly ask everybody to proceed preserving the monks in your ideas and prayers as therapeutic begins and the journey towards peace continues,” the group stated in a put up on Fb.
After the accident, the monks don’t plan to alter how they conduct their stroll, which takes place alongside highways but in addition by way of open fields, Dong stated.
Stroll for Peace plans to proceed working with native regulation enforcement within the areas they journey by way of to make sure the security of the monks, he stated.
“Proper now, every little thing continues to be as deliberate,” Dong stated.
The driving force of the truck that hit the monk’s escort car is cooperating with the investigation, which continues to be ongoing, Burleigh stated.
“Proper now, we’re taking a look at this as driver inattention,” stated Burleigh, who added that police will decide on the finish of the investigation if any expenses might be filed.
