Crime Taxi Driver Blocks Ambulance, Leading to Patient’s Death in Patong

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Matichon.

 

An incident has unfolded in Phuket after a green-plate taxi obstructed an ambulance from Patong Hospital, resulting in the death of an emergency patient inside the vehicle.

 

The event occurred on the morning of 27 April 2025 along the Kamala-Patong Road, located in Kamala Subdistrict, Kathu District, Phuket Province.

 

According to information from the MCOT Phuket Facebook page, the deceased, identified as Mr Pradit, aged 62, had a history of heart disease. He collapsed while working in a durian orchard in the Kamala community. Relatives promptly contacted Patong Hospital, which dispatched an emergency team at 08:15.

 

Upon reaching the scene, the ambulance team quickly placed Mr Pradit into the vehicle and began the journey towards Phuket Town for urgent medical treatment. However, en route, a green-plate taxi allegedly refused to give way, driving slowly along the leftmost lane, thereby preventing the ambulance from gaining speed as the crew continued to administer critical cardiac resuscitation.

 

Despite the medical team’s efforts to revive him, Mr Pradit was pronounced dead at approximately 08:45.

 

Eyewitnesses reported that the ambulance had its sirens fully activated, but the taxi driver failed to move aside. “The road was narrow, but if the taxi had just pulled over for a moment, the patient’s life might have been saved,” one witness said.

 

Patong Hospital, together with officers from Patong Police Station, has since reviewed CCTV footage and summoned the taxi driver for questioning. Initial charges include obstructing an emergency vehicle and violating patient rights, with legal proceedings to follow.

 

Police officials also announced that they are reviewing traffic regulations in the area and plan to launch a campaign urging motorists to yield to emergency vehicles, aiming to prevent such incidents in future.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon 2025-04-29.

 

 

 

[Ralf001]

10 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

.Patong Hospital, together with officers from Patong Police Station, has since reviewed CCTV footage and summoned the taxi driver for questioning. Initial charges include obstructing an emergency vehicle and violating patient rights, with legal proceedings to follow.

 

Police officials also announced that they are reviewing traffic regulations in the area and plan to launch a campaign urging motorists to yield to emergency vehicles, aiming to prevent such incidents in future.

 

 

Reckless driving causing death should be the charge the Taxi driver faces.

[daveAustin]

Disgraceful. We see this time and again here, drivers with small willy syndrome getting upset when ambulances want to pass. The bastard should be banged up!

[bkk6060]

That coud be any of us in that ambulance.  Just an example of the disgusting selfish driving habits here.  He should be booked for murder and let the court figure out his final conviction.

Terrible.

[blaze master]

At home roads part like the Red Sea when an ambulance is on a call.

 

 

[sammieuk1]

The honest taxi driver would have been on his way to the police station to reunite a passenger' with a million baht found on his back seat I expect 🤔

 

[tomazbodner]

In a country in Europe I'm just back from I've heard the announcement on radio that not moving to the side of the road to allow ambulance to pass carries a 5000 EUR fine. With number of such incidents reported in Thailand every year, maybe there's a way to discipline drivers into giving way to those trying to save lives...

[dinsdale]

34 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

That coud be any of us in that ambulance.  Just an example of the disgusting selfish driving habits here.  He should be booked for murder and let the court figure out his final conviction.

Terrible.

It happens but is it the norm as your post would seem to imply? Not from what I've seen. What I see is the majority (true not all) try and make room for ambulances with sirens and lights on.

[patongphil]

I would suggest the chances of being "saved" at Patong Hospital would be pretty low anyway.

[grumpyoldman]

Lost my best pal this last March when he went into cardiac arrest as the ambulance could not get through Chalong traffic to get to him. His widow said it was 40 minutes before the ambulance got there and he was long gone. 59 years old.........

 

Too many people and vehicles in Phuket these days.

[thesetat]

When it is your time to go. Somehow something will make so that this happens the way it should. I feel bad for the family of the deceased and disgust for the taxi driver. But this is Thailand and Thai drivers think everyone else should let them drive the way they want. You are supposed to move for them, not the other way around. Sad but true in so many instances. It would be a hard prove that the man's death is to blame for for the taxi getting in the way. But we all know that every minute counts when trying to get to the hospital in an emergency such as this. He should be charged for such a crime relating to the death. 

[dddave]

When I was recently studying for the Thai Driving license exam, I was surprised to learn that the maximum fine for blocking or not giving way an emergency vehicle was shockingly low, like under B1000

[Jim Blue]

Supposed to have  introduced this obstruction offence just a few years ago and most do  now pull over . There is only the odd idiot who does this now .

[spidermike007]

While in Italy I witnessed ambulances with monster bumpers literally pushing vehicles onto the side of the road, and tearing them up in the process. It was a gorgeous sight. The drivers were left stunned. Would love to see that in Thailand. You don't want to move and help to save lives? OK, let's destroy your vehicle. HA! 

 

They were similar to the image below. Such a great idea. 

 

 

[terryofcrete]

Me first….do not care if you die !

[newbee2022]

8 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

 

Picture courtesy of Matichon.

 

An incident has unfolded in Phuket after a green-plate taxi obstructed an ambulance from Patong Hospital, resulting in the death of an emergency patient inside the vehicle.

 

The event occurred on the morning of 27 April 2025 along the Kamala-Patong Road, located in Kamala Subdistrict, Kathu District, Phuket Province.

 

According to information from the MCOT Phuket Facebook page, the deceased, identified as Mr Pradit, aged 62, had a history of heart disease. He collapsed while working in a durian orchard in the Kamala community. Relatives promptly contacted Patong Hospital, which dispatched an emergency team at 08:15.

 

Upon reaching the scene, the ambulance team quickly placed Mr Pradit into the vehicle and began the journey towards Phuket Town for urgent medical treatment. However, en route, a green-plate taxi allegedly refused to give way, driving slowly along the leftmost lane, thereby preventing the ambulance from gaining speed as the crew continued to administer critical cardiac resuscitation.

 

Despite the medical team’s efforts to revive him, Mr Pradit was pronounced dead at approximately 08:45.

 

Eyewitnesses reported that the ambulance had its sirens fully activated, but the taxi driver failed to move aside. “The road was narrow, but if the taxi had just pulled over for a moment, the patient’s life might have been saved,” one witness said.

 

Patong Hospital, together with officers from Patong Police Station, has since reviewed CCTV footage and summoned the taxi driver for questioning. Initial charges include obstructing an emergency vehicle and violating patient rights, with legal proceedings to follow.

 

Police officials also announced that they are reviewing traffic regulations in the area and plan to launch a campaign urging motorists to yield to emergency vehicles, aiming to prevent such incidents in future.

 

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon 2025-04-29.

 

 

 

Tragic story.

You can't revive that person.

But what will happen now to the taxi driver? Was it murder? Kind of. He's responsible partly of the death of a person.

[Photoguy21]

6 hours ago, grumpyoldman said:

Lost my best pal this last March when he went into cardiac arrest as the ambulance could not get through Chalong traffic to get to him. His widow said it was 40 minutes before the ambulance got there and he was long gone. 59 years old.........

 

Too many people and vehicles in Phuket these days.

What you say is true but why are there not very heavy penalties for obstructing an ambulance, police car or fire engine in Thailand. Even the Middle East countries have strict laws of such things.

[Ralf001]

6 hours ago, thesetat said:

When it is your time to go. Somehow something will make so that this happens the way it should. I feel bad for the family of the deceased and disgust for the taxi driver. But this is Thailand and Thai drivers think everyone else should let them drive the way they want. You are supposed to move for them, not the other way around. Sad but true in so many instances. It would be a hard prove that the man's death is to blame for for the taxi getting in the way. But we all know that every minute counts when trying to get to the hospital in an emergency such as this. He should be charged for such a crime relating to the death. 

 

If it was not for a speedy transfer between hospitals in Pattaya and Sriracha I would likely be dead.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

An incident has unfolded in Phuket after a green-plate taxi obstructed an ambulance from Patong Hospital, resulting in the death of an emergency patient inside the vehicle.

Name him, shame him and charge him...

[thesetat]

3 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

If it was not for a speedy transfer between hospitals in Pattaya and Sriracha I would likely be dead.

You were lucky.. 

[JimHuaHin]

Simple solution - charge the taxi driver with manslaughter and send him to prison for a decade.

 

Then maybe, just maybe,m other Thais will learn.

 

But, as we all know, TIT.

[Frankie baby]

Not fit to drive on the road, surly they must take his license off him for starters. 

[Reddavy]

10 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

 

Picture courtesy of Matichon.

 

An incident has unfolded in Phuket after a green-plate taxi obstructed an ambulance from Patong Hospital, resulting in the death of an emergency patient inside the vehicle.

 

The event occurred on the morning of 27 April 2025 along the Kamala-Patong Road, located in Kamala Subdistrict, Kathu District, Phuket Province.

 

According to information from the MCOT Phuket Facebook page, the deceased, identified as Mr Pradit, aged 62, had a history of heart disease. He collapsed while working in a durian orchard in the Kamala community. Relatives promptly contacted Patong Hospital, which dispatched an emergency team at 08:15.

 

 

Upon reaching the scene, the ambulance team quickly placed Mr Pradit into the vehicle and began the journey towards Phuket Town for urgent medical treatment. However, en route, a green-plate taxi allegedly refused to give way, driving slowly along the leftmost lane, thereby preventing the ambulance from gaining speed as the crew continued to administer critical cardiac resuscitation.

 

Despite the medical team’s efforts to revive him, Mr Pradit was pronounced dead at approximately 08:45.

 

Eyewitnesses reported that the ambulance had its sirens fully activated, but the taxi driver failed to move aside. “The road was narrow, but if the taxi had just pulled over for a moment, the patient’s life might have been saved,” one witness said.

 

Patong Hospital, together with officers from Patong Police Station, has since reviewed CCTV footage and summoned the taxi driver for questioning. Initial charges include obstructing an emergency vehicle and violating patient rights, with legal proceedings to follow.

 

Police officials also announced that they are reviewing traffic regulations in the area and plan to launch a campaign urging motorists to yield to emergency vehicles, aiming to prevent such incidents in future.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon 2025-04-29.

 

 

 

Thainess i’m afraid 🤷🏼

[Watawattana]

1 hour ago, JimHuaHin said:

Simple solution - charge the taxi driver with manslaughter and send him to prison for a decade.

 

Then maybe, just maybe,m other Thais will learn.

 

But, as we all know, TIT.

Although I totally agree with you, it just isn't how vehicular crimes are viewed by the majority of governments.  People know they are driving something that can kill, but they still drive poorly, and all too often the sentences are a couple of years only when it really should be 15-20 years+.

[klauskunkel]

10 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Police officials plan to launch a campaign urging motorists to yield to emergency vehicles

A campaign, that's the way to go. 

Some past successful campaigns include:

Side Walk for Pedestrians Campaign...

Respect Zebra Crossings Campaign...

Helmets for Motorcycles Campaign...

[Free the 115]

10 hours ago, patongphil said:

I would suggest the chances of being "saved" at Patong Hospital would be pretty low anyway.

I think you should offer your services to the defence team as a medical expert

[J Branche]

Definitely one of punishments should be that they spend time in a morgue to see what possibly caused the patients early demise.  

 

They want to block an ambulance but if he were inside that ambulance he would want people to clear the path.

 

Definitely think some of these people's brains are baked from being in the sun to long.

[Andre0720]

Thailand creates a culture. Support this culture.

And then appears offended at the result of this culture.

 

Very simply, laws not enforced are the same as no law at all.

Wrote that before.

This taxi driver will get a slap on the wrist, while complaining that he had a reason....

 

[Captain Flack]

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[kuzmabruk]

13 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

urging motorists to yield to emergency vehicles

Problem is many vehicles with sirens drive around with the siren on and this makes people disrespect sirens.   It’s difficult to stop this, but making the offense of blocking an emergency vehicle with its siren on incur a severe penalty is not difficult.  But this is Thailand and so the penalty will probably not be 50,000 baht as it should be.