This is the shocking moment a female driver ran over a homeless man before calmly walking away.

The woman, whose name was not disclosed by police, was driving into the Phra Pathommachedi temple when she mowed down the 63-year-old vagrant sitting in the car park in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, on Monday.

CCTV footage shows her Isuzu SUV crushing the man under the tyres, with him grunting in pain as the vehicle rolled forward. He was dragged some 10 feet across the pavement, leaving a gruesome trail of blood on the concrete.

The driver pulled into the parking space and flagged a Buddhist monk for help when she saw the bleeding man groaning in pain on the ground. Bizarrely, she then ambled out of the gate without waiting for an ambulance, making apologetic gestures at shocked onlookers as she left.

A local rescue team arrived at the scene and rushed the critically injured man to the hospital. They said they were delayed in responding 'because it was a holiday and the roads were congested'.

The homeless man reportedly suffered severe back injuries but miraculously survived. He was recovering at the Nakhon Pathom Hospital and was being cared for by his relatives from Phitsanulok. He is scheduled to undergo surgery today.

A police spokesman said: 'The woman was identified as a temple visitor who regularly makes donations at Phra Pathom Chedi.

'When asked where she had been after the accident, she claimed to have entered the vehicle to continue visiting a temple in Ratchaburi province. We have inspected the scene and seized her SUV. We are preparing to take legal action.'

Nai, 25, a vendor stationed near the scene, said: 'If a vehicle runs over something unusual, shouldn't the driver stop and check instead of continuing on and causing serious injuries? And why didn't the woman come back to help the victim? Instead, she just walked away as if she had more important business to attend to.'

He urged the relevant agencies to ensure the homeless man receives the proper care and compensation, emphasising that everyone has equal rights to treatment.

Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in Asia, Thailand suffers from chronic underinvestment in its highways and education, contributing to its poor road safety levels. Only a handful of African countries are worse.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.