This is why you never sit in a broken down car: Driver cheats death by inches after lorry crashes straight into his vehicle on a Chinese highway

  • Teenager's electric car had run out of battery on a highway in eastern China 
  • He climbed over the crash barrier seconds before the truck rear-ended it 
  • The lorry driver had been driving nearly seven hours non-stop, police said
  • Surveillance footage captures the heart-stopping moment last Wednesday 

By Tracy You For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A driver in China has survived unscathed after his car broke down on a highway and was rear-ended by a fast lorry shortly after.

The motorist had just abandoned his car and climbed over the crash barrier when the huge truck crashed straight into his white vehicle.

The 18-year-old driver was driving a rental electric car which ran out of battery on the expressway, according to local reports. 

The truck approaches the car as the driver calls the police for help by the crash barrier in China

The truck approaches the car as the driver calls the police for help by the crash barrier in China

The heavy goods swipes the car away and out of camera shot as the driver escapes in terror

The heavy goods swipes the car away and out of camera shot as the driver escapes in terror

The heart-stopping moment was captured by a surveillance camera along the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway in Zhejiang Province, according to traffic police.

The driver was calling the traffic police for help when the accident occurred last Wednesday near the city of Jiaxing, said Jiaxing Highway Traffic Police. 

During the phone call, which lasted around one minute, officers advised the driver to turn on his hazard lights and place an emergency triangle roughly 150 metres (492 feet) behind the car.

They also advised him to immediately leave the site and go to the other side of the crash barrier. The driver did so about five seconds before the potentially fatal crash took place. 

The lorry driver had been driving nearly seven hours without a break, local traffic police said

The lorry driver had been driving nearly seven hours without a break, local traffic police said

The rental electric car, completely wrecked after the accident, had run out of battery halfway

The rental electric car, completely wrecked after the accident, had run out of battery halfway

Surveillance footage released by the police shows the driver speaking on the phone with traffic police as his car is stranded on the hard shoulder.

He steps away from the broken-down car and climbs to the other side of the crash barrier as advised by the authorities on the phone.

Seconds later, the heavy goods vehicle slams into the back of the electric car, swiping it away and out of camera shot as the young driver escapes in terror.

According to Zhejiang Highway Traffic Police, the lorry driver had been driving nearly seven hours without a break before the accident. 

The white car's driver, 18-year-old Li, is not allowed to drive on a highway unaccompanied

The white car's driver, 18-year-old Li, is not allowed to drive on a highway unaccompanied

The authority said the lorry driver broke the traffic law and should bear the full responsibility of the accident.  

The lucky driver has been identified as 18-year-old Li by Urban Express. 

The local newspaper said the teenage driver had just received his driving license and was still in his learner phase. 

According to the Chinese traffic law, a driver is not allowed to drive on motorways unaccompanied during the learner's phase.

It is said that Li wanted to push his luck, therefore he rented an electric car and drove onto the Shanghai-bound expressway, only for it to run out of battery and break down halfway. 

It remains unclear if Li would receive any punishment for his behaviour.   

China

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