UK Teacher Joanna McKiddie Stuck and Killed by Taxi in Bangkok

Joanna McKiddie, who died after being hit by a taxi outside a petrol station in Bangkok, Thailand, had been working at an international school in the city for around five weeks.

 

Chiangrai Times – Joanna McKiddie, 29, suffered fatal injuries when she was struck by a taxi outside a petrol station in Bangkok in the early hours of September 15.

Miss McKiddie, who was working as a reception class teacher at St Andrew’s International School in the Thai capital, had been in the country just five weeks.

The teacher’s mother Julia McKiddie, 60, said the family had been left devastated by the loss of her ‘wonderful daughter Jo’.

An inquest heard the teacher, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and a friend had just got out of a cab and were crossing the Sathon Tai Road when they were hit by another passing taxi.

McKiddie died after being struck by the car, and her friend was left seriously injured

Miss McKiddie died after being struck by the car, and her friend was left seriously injured.

A 31-year-old man was later questioned by police in Thailand and charged in connection with the incident.

Miss McKiddie’s family travelled to Thailand following the tragedy and returned home with her body on Sunday.

They told how Joanna, who had always dreamed of being a teacher, had travelled widely and had previously taught in Australia and New Zealand.

Her sister Lisa McKiddie, 31, said: ‘She was a brilliant and creative teacher and she had a lot of empathy for the children she worked with.

‘She wanted to be a teacher from being a very young age.

‘We have had some wonderful messages of support from people she worked with all over the world and friends she met.’

Her mother Julia, 60, said: ‘We are devastated by this sudden and tragic loss of our wonderful daughter Jo.’

Mrs McKiddie said the family had been touched by tributes to her daughter that had poured in from friends around the world.

‘She was obviously loved by so many and held in very high regard by everyone she met,’ she said.

Miss McKiddie’s father Dennis, 69, a retired solicitor, added: ‘I’m amazed at how many tributes we have had.’

Joanna’s Australian boyfriend Voytek Zietara, aged 28, described her as a ‘devoted teacher and a caring person’.

‘I loved her more than words can say,’ he said.

The couple met while Miss McKiddie was teaching in New Zealand two years ago.

West Yorkshire assistant deputy coroner Mary Burke adjourned the inquest yesterday pending further inquiries by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. – By Kerry Mcdermott