Driver's Mishandling Causes Vehicle to Crash Into Restaurant
11-Year-Old Girl's Quick Thinking Prevents Injuries
In China, an electric vehicle for the elderly crashed through the glass of a restaurant and rushed inside, where an 11-year-old girl threw herself to save her one-year-old sibling.
An 11-year-old girl in China saved her younger sibling from a car rushing into a restaurant. Photo by China CCTV
According to reports from the BBC in the UK and local Chinese media on June 8, the incident occurred at around 12:48 p.m. on June 2 at a restaurant in Zhoukou, Henan Province, China. A man in his 60s was driving an electric vehicle for the elderly when it suddenly crashed into the restaurant.
At the time of the accident, the restaurant owner's two granddaughters were playing inside. Security camera footage shows that when the electric vehicle broke through the glass door and rushed toward the direction of the one-year-old girl, the 11-year-old girl appeared momentarily startled but immediately grabbed her younger sibling and narrowly escaped the vehicle. The car only came to a stop after hitting an interior wall of the restaurant. It was a close call in which both the younger sibling and the older sister could have been seriously injured.
A video has been released showing an 11-year-old Chinese girl saving her younger sibling from a car rushing into a restaurant. BBC
In an interview with the media, the older sister said, "Even if I had been hit, I would have been okay," adding, "It would have just meant a short stay in the hospital." The grandmother, who is also the restaurant owner, reportedly shed tears after belatedly watching the accident footage, saying, "A child saved her sibling's life." Thanks to the older sister's quick thinking, although the restaurant's glass door was completely destroyed and the front of the vehicle was damaged, there were no injuries.
The driver, a man in his 60s, was a regular customer at the restaurant. On the day of the accident, after finishing his meal, he tried to drive away in his newly purchased electric vehicle but mistook the accelerator pedal for the brake, causing the crash. The driver admitted to mishandling the controls, apologized to the victims, and agreed to compensate for the damages. The restaurant also decided not to demand any additional compensation, considering that there were no injuries.
The restaurant owner posted the accident footage on Douyin, a Chinese social networking service. Local internet users responded with anger, saying, "The older sister is truly brave," and "If you are not skilled at driving, you should not bring a vehicle out."
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