The force of the impact uprooted the street lamp and left it knocked down amid the southbound lanes.
A taxi driver taking a Chinese tourist from Phuket International Airport to Phuket Town was unable to avoid ramming into it, though both the driver and his tourist passenger were not injured in the accident.
Capt Warawut Sensop of the Thalang Police was notified received of the accident, in the front Thalang Public Health Office on Thepkrasattri Rd, in the heart of Thalang Town, at 00:15am.
At the scene was Chevrolet Colorado, registered in Chachoengsao Province, abandoned amid the southbound lanes with heavy damage to its front end. Both front wheels were buckled and the front tyres were punched flat.
Some 50 metres away was the fallen lamppost that had been forcibly removed from the traffic island separating the north and southbound lanes.
Nearby was a Phuket taxi, with taxi driver Salid Suriyayothin, 41, awaiting police.
“Mr Salid said he saw the pickup truck cross onto the traffic island at high speed and crash into the streetlight. He was unable to avoid hitting the pole, and his taxi suffered a flat tyre. Luckily b oth him and his passenger were not injured,” Capt Warawut said.
“We have taken the pickup truck to Thalang Police Station and we are now trying to track down the driver,” he added.