This is the terrifying moment a wild elephant crushed a passing car after refusing to let it drive by on a mountain road.

The jumbo noticed the grey Toyota approaching on a bend in Nakhon Rathashima, northeastern Thailand, last Tuesday (October 29) afternoon.

The large bull stomped over to the vehicle and kneeled on the bonnet before walking behind and laying its huge body across the rear windscreen. 

Shocked driver Phassakorn Niltarach was left cowering behind the steering wheel while the beast smashed the glass and dented the bodywork and damaged the mirrors.

The vehicle eventually managed to move forward after the ordeal, lasting more than a minute. 

The woman who recorded the video is heard saying "are you crazy?"
She then adds: ''You should have driven away earlier before the elephant had chance to do that."

Speaking after, the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: ''I was so shocked when the elephant walked to the car and I was even more surprised when the elephant tried to sit on that car.

"It's lucky that the driver managed to get away safely. I want this to be an example because people should stay well away from the elephants. They might appear friendly but they could hurt you."

Wildlife rangers in the Khao Yai National Park said that the elephant was a 35-year-old male named Deu. They warned drivers to take extra care when driving through the mountain roads, where elephants often roam.

Park ranger Kanchit Sarinpawan said that elephants often venture out of the forest around October when the country's monsoon rainy season ends and the dry and cool period begins.

The official reassured motorists that the elephant's behaviour was ''just his way of greeting tourists."