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Bus rescuer insists he is not special
By Wu Shen |
July 9, 2009, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE quick-thinking hero who stepped on the brake of an out of control Bridge Route No.3 bus and saved dozens of passengers from injury or worse on Sunday is a 35-year-old primary school teacher who does not have a driving license.
Shanghai native Chen Wei said although he doesn't know how to drive, he had been interested in learning and had been observing bus drivers for some time.
The physical education teacher at Shanghai Hangzhou Road No. 1 Primary School said he didn't pull the hand brake as was reported.
"I stopped the bus by stepping on the floor brake," he said. "I don't even know where the handbrake is. I can't drive. I was just planning to learn and always watched how drivers worked on the buses."
On Sunday night, Chen moved from the last row to the middle of the bus, pulling the driver, who was later declared dead, from a bridge guardrail partly back into the moving vehicle through a smashed window before heading to the front and stepping on the brake.
The bus had zigzagged out of control for about 900 meters before Chen stopped it. Three people were killed and 27 others were injured.
Chen was on his way home on the bus when it was crossing the Yangpu Bridge from Puxi to Pudong. Sitting in the last row, he felt the bus veer to the left, followed by a big crash. "The lights on the bus went out suddenly after the first collision and everyone was so frightened that they bowed their heads and some crouched down," he said.
When the bus moved into the opposite lane and hit a taxi head-on, many passengers fell on the floor. The bus driver was thrown through the windshield and onto the bridge's guardrail. The bus kept going and smashing into other vehicles, he said. After pulling the driver partly back into the bus, Chen walked his way among the other passengers to the driver's seat.
"The cab was really a mess. I tried to control the bus and steer it, but the steering wheel was broken," he said. "I then tried to recall how drivers operate and stop their buses and finally found the brake."
Chen insisted he is not a hero.
"Don't call me hero," he said. "I don't think there is anything special about me. The only change it will bring to my life is probably more media interview requests."
For initial coverage of the story, visit http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=406740&type=Metro
Shanghai native Chen Wei said although he doesn't know how to drive, he had been interested in learning and had been observing bus drivers for some time.
The physical education teacher at Shanghai Hangzhou Road No. 1 Primary School said he didn't pull the hand brake as was reported.
"I stopped the bus by stepping on the floor brake," he said. "I don't even know where the handbrake is. I can't drive. I was just planning to learn and always watched how drivers worked on the buses."
On Sunday night, Chen moved from the last row to the middle of the bus, pulling the driver, who was later declared dead, from a bridge guardrail partly back into the moving vehicle through a smashed window before heading to the front and stepping on the brake.
The bus had zigzagged out of control for about 900 meters before Chen stopped it. Three people were killed and 27 others were injured.
Chen was on his way home on the bus when it was crossing the Yangpu Bridge from Puxi to Pudong. Sitting in the last row, he felt the bus veer to the left, followed by a big crash. "The lights on the bus went out suddenly after the first collision and everyone was so frightened that they bowed their heads and some crouched down," he said.
When the bus moved into the opposite lane and hit a taxi head-on, many passengers fell on the floor. The bus driver was thrown through the windshield and onto the bridge's guardrail. The bus kept going and smashing into other vehicles, he said. After pulling the driver partly back into the bus, Chen walked his way among the other passengers to the driver's seat.
"The cab was really a mess. I tried to control the bus and steer it, but the steering wheel was broken," he said. "I then tried to recall how drivers operate and stop their buses and finally found the brake."
Chen insisted he is not a hero.
"Don't call me hero," he said. "I don't think there is anything special about me. The only change it will bring to my life is probably more media interview requests."
For initial coverage of the story, visit http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=406740&type=Metro
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