A man has been apprehended in Nong Bua Lam Phu for making off with an ambulance after stealing a pickup truck while under the influence of methamphetamine in neighbouring Udon Thani province.
Police in Nong Bua Lam Phu were alerted on Friday night to stop a 33-year-old man identified as only Somdee, who had made off with an emergency vehicle of Sriboonruang Hospital while its driver was tending to a patient.
The officers were able to track the ambulance using its onboard GPS and located Somdee on Highway 288, intercepting him approximately 500 metres from Baan Tung Pattana village in Si Bun Rueang district.
Somdee was taken back to the hospital and tested positive for drug use. He confessed to purchasing a meth pill after completing his work as a rubber tapper on Friday. High on the substance, he stole an Isuzu pickup truck in Udon Thani and drove it across the provincial border with the intent to find a new vehicle in Nong Bua Lam Phu.
He chose to stake out his next vehicle at Sriboonruang Hospital and seized the opportunity when he noticed the empty ambulance.
The suspect said his motive was to reach Bangkok and continue to Chon Buri to see his son. He said he decided to abandon the pickup because he feared it would be tracked. On the other hand, he thought that if he drove with the ambulance’s siren on, he could get where he wanted to go without anyone trying to stop him.
The owner of the first stolen vehicle, a shop owner in Udon Thani, later appeared to reclaim his truck, saying that Somdee had appeared in his store and casually picked up his car keys, asking to “borrow the car for a joyride nearby”. He attempted to follow the man but could not catch up to the fleeing suspect.
Somdee has been charged with theft and is being detained in Nong Bua Lam Phu.