Person is praised for saving lives in a highway collapse accident

Wang Xiangnan, a truck driver who stopped his cold chain truck on the expressway to stop cars during the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway collapse, was fined 10,000 yuan (about $1,413) by a Justice and Courage Association in Puyang in the center rewards China’s Henan province on Sunday. Huang Jiandu, who bravely knelt in the middle of the road to stop traffic on the highway, was also honored with a reward in southern China’s Guangdong Province.

On May 1, a landslide occurred at around 2:10 a.m. on the Chayang section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, Guangdong Province, killing 48 people and injuring 30, Xinhua News Agency reported on May 2.

During the accident, Wang, a military veteran, was driving a cold chain truck and recognized a possible accident through the vehicle’s GPS. When Wang realized that the road was about to collapse, he immediately stopped his 12.5-meter-long cold chain truck in the middle of the expressway. He activated his hazard lights to warn and stop vehicles behind him, preventing another tragedy.

Huang, 64, made the brave decision to kneel in the middle of the highway to stop oncoming vehicles after the collapse. His bravery was praised by Fengshun County in Meizhou, and a local charity foundation rewarded him with 10,000 yuan for his bravery.

Meizhou is looking for ways to recognize the heroism of Wang and a number of others. The Guangdong provincial government has established a disaster investigation and assessment team led by the governor. The causes of the disaster are currently being investigated, a local media outlet reported on Saturday.