Patong Police were notified of the accident at about 4am, with duty investigator Lt Col Chanarong Prakongkeo dispatched to the scene at the fire station intersection on Phra Metta Rd in Patong.
Emergency responders from the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation and Patong Hospital arrived to find a white Honda sedan with Songkhla licence plates parked at the scene. The driver of the car was identified as a 32-year-old French national, who The Phuket News was told operates a restaurant in Patong and has lived on the island for 10 years.
Nearby lay a blue Honda PCX motorbike with Phuket plates, driven by a 61-year-old man, also a French national*. The Frenchman had suffered fatal injuries in the impact, while his female passenger, 35, was taken to hospital with injuries.
Police said initial investigations indicated that both vehicles were travelling from Patong Hospital towards the fire station when they collided. The impact caused the motorbike to topple and crash into a traffic light pole, killing the French rider instantly.
French Embassy representatives have been notified, police said, adding that they were continuing their investigation into the cause of the crash.
* The Phuket News is withholding the man’s name until it has been confirmed his next of kin have been notified.