Young boy run over while crossing street, ignored by adults, saved by 7-year-old kid
An incident which occurred earlier this month on a street in southern China has Chinese netizens continuing to bemoan the current sorry state of their country’s Good Samaritan spirit, while also giving them some hope for the future.
In surveillance video footage from Yulin, Guangxi, a young boy is seen suddenly dashing across the street right in front of a motorized tricycle. Unable to swerve or stop in time, the tricycle runs the kid over.
After a quick glance at the child, the tricycle’s owner drives away.
Meanwhile, other passersby or commuters on the street either hesitate to help or completely ignore the small child writhing in agony in the middle of the road. Finally, a boy in a red shirt rushes out and drags the injured kid to safety.
On the sidewalk, a woman approaches the pair, only to instead take a third child, who had been watching the scene, by the hand and lead him away. As they are leaving, the child looks back while the mother does not.
The injured boy was taken to the hospital. He suffered a fractured foot and some minor injuries in the accident. The tricycle driver has turned herself in to police.
Afterward, the young red-shirted hero spoke with reporters, revealing that he was only 7 years old. When one reporter asked if he was not scared rushing out onto the road, the kid replied, “I wasn’t afraid. The teachers taught us that if we see someone in trouble, then we should help them.
Thanks to widespread public distrust, many people in China do not follow this golden rule. In an infamous incident earlier this year, also played out on surveillance tape, a woman was hit by a car while crossing a busy intersection in Henan, leaving her lying motionless on the road alongside a crosswalk. Afterward, dozens of pedestrians and drivers passed by without taking action to help the woman before she was run over a second time, ending her life.
Back in October, China’s new Good Samaritan law finally went into effect, granting wide protections to those who voluntarily offer emergency assistance to victims. So far, it doesn’t seem to have changed much.
[Images via Knews]
