The incident occurred on Sunday (Dec 28) while rescue workers were rushing a patient suffering breathing difficulties, numbness in the hands and feet, and fever with chills to Thalang Hospital.
The ambulance was travelling along Thepkrasattri Rd towards Muang Mai, passing the Muang Mai Highway Police box and the airport intersection, when a white, Phuket-registered pickup truck with a closed cargo box on back began following closely behind.
According to the rescue team, the pickup truck activated its emergency lights and continued to tailgate the ambulance throughout the journey, at times appearing to signal to pass.
Rescue workers even asked the patient and accompanying relatives whether the vehicle belonged to them, but they confirmed it did not.
Rescue officials stressed that such behaviour is highly dangerous and inappropriate unless the following vehicle genuinely belongs to a relative travelling to the hospital ‒ and even then, a safe distance must always be maintained to avoid causing further risk to other road users.
The Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation stated that there was no intention to pursue legal action, but urged motorists to treat the incident as a serious cautionary example. If an accident had occurred, they questioned, who would have taken responsibility?
The foundation hopes the incident will remind drivers that ambulances require priority on the road and that reckless behaviour around emergency vehicles can put lives at further risk.