A lucky driver cheated death after surviving a horrific side-on collision with a cement lorry.
Dashcam footage recorded the exact moment when the lorry and car collide at a busy intersection.
The heavy-duty vehicle is seen slamming into the small black car, pushing it along the asphalt and pretty much flattening it in the process. In the aftermath of the collision, the driver of the black car was trapped in the driver’s seat.
The horrific incident took place in Shanghai’s Pudong district in East China when lorry driver, 29-year-old Shen (no last name given), ploughed into the car.
Despite the severity of the crash, the driver of the black car, who has been identified as 24-year-old Zhang (no last name given) did not sustain any serious injuries. He did, however, remain stuck in the mangled car until the emergency services arrived to pry him free.
While Zhang was trapped in his car, Xu Manman, who witnessed the accident while driving to work, can be seen standing next to the crushed car comforting the stranded driver. According to the witnesses who stood around filming the entire incident, she was the only one who was attending Zhang before rescue services arrived.
She was wiping the blood off of Zhang’s forehead and encouraged him to stay awake. When the emergency services eventually arrived it took them mere minutes to free Zhang from the wreck. He was brought to a hospital where – in spite of the devastating collision – paramedics treated him for minor injuries.
Meanwhile, Manman, who works for Shanghai Solid Stainless Steel Products Co. Ltd, has been praised for her caring and selfless actions during the driver’s hour of need.
In a statement, she revealed:
I was actually very scared at the time. The state of the accident was more than I could handle at the moment, but a life was on the line and I needed to help in any way possible.
Following the accident, Pudong district police have cleared both Zhang and Shen of driving under the influence. However, they are still looking into who was responsible for the accident in the first place.
According to statistics website Statista, the number of traffic accidents in China between 2006 to 2016 had dropped significantly. In 2006, 230,364 car accidents were recorded, it dropped to an all-time low in 2015 with 129,155. However, in 2016 figures had a minor spike up to 145,820.
But the World Health Organisation suggests that 700 people die a day in road-related accidents, this is according to a report from the South China Morning Post. It’s believed up to 260,000 deaths on the mainland occur each year, with 60 per cent of the vulnerable road users being pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
WHO’s report also states across the world an estimated 1.25 million people die – with another 20 to 50 million injured – every year on the road.
Bernhard Schwartländer, the WHO’s representative in China stated:
The carnage that occurs on the world’s roads every single day is a public health crisis of gargantuan proportions.
He points out the problem in China isn’t the fault of e-bikes, but more the lack of enforcement of traffic regulations for e-bikes, meaning drivers would ignore speed limits.
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