A bus driver in China was hailed a hero after he managed to brake the bus twice despite having a heart attack, avoiding a collision and saving a total of 12 passengers as a result.
Unfortunately, efforts to save his life proved futile as he later passed away hours later.
Braked bus twice
According to local media reports, the incident occurred at around 6:33pm on June 15 in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, during the evening rush hour.
Footage from an onboard surveillance camera showed the bus driver, Zhou Yu, suddenly lurch forward while driving.
Despite this, Zhou had the presence of mind to slam the brakes and bring the bus to a controlled stop at a traffic junction while maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front.
He then slumped back into his seat and appeared to black out.
About a minute later, Zhou regained consciousness and sat upright before bringing the bus to a complete stop.
According to local transport officials, this prevented the bus from rolling forward on uneven road surfaces even after Zhou lost consciousness.
Succumbed to heart attack
Authorities were called to the scene after passengers saw that Zhou was unresponsive.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed on Zhou before he was rushed to the hospital.
Sadly, Zhou couldn’t escape death’s clutches and died at 11:17pm that night. The heart attack was later identified to have been caused by an acute coronary syndrome.
Stellar record
A representative from Zhoushan’s public transport operator said Zhou worked as a bus driver for 22 years and had over 340,000km of safe driving.
As such, he was able to carry out the critical braking manoeuvre despite suffering a heart attack.
It was also reported that Zhou had an excellent driving record, where he had zero accidents, zero traffic violations, and zero passenger complaints since joining the company in 2019.
He was also recognised as a safe driver for seven years straight.
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