Footage has emerged of a quick-thinking pedestrian pulling her friend to safety at the last second as an out-of-control SUV crashed into a nearby hotel.
© Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
File photo: Chinese capital Beijing.
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CCTV images from the lobby of Shengzhou Imperial Grand Hotel in Zhejiang Province in East China captured the moment the two women narrowly escaped the potentially fatal incident on Tuesday.
The friends can be seen walking in front of the hotel’s east entrance when the vehicle, which was driven by a man identified only by his last name Yu, swerves toward them at 8:15 p.m. local time.
One friend spots the black SUV and pulls her friend to safety. The pair then fall backwards as Yu’s car is driven up the steps and slams into a parked sedan as well as the hotel’s glass doors, the video shows.
The surveillance camera video revealed three other hotel guests who also avoided the crash by seconds. They stepped into an elevator just as Yu’s car shattered the hotel’s glass doors and came to a stop against a concrete wall.
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An on-duty staff member seated in the lobby managed to avoid debris and was also unharmed, the clip shows.
Videos circulated on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and WeChat show Yu apparently unconscious in the driver’s seat of his car in the aftermath of the accident.
The front of his SUV appeared to have sustained heavy damage during the high-speed crash and was filmed as it was being towed away from the scene.
Shengzhou traffic police said they arrived to find Yu unconscious in the driver’s seat, but it was not immediately clear whether his condition was a result of the crash.
No others were injured apart from the driver himself, local authorities said in an online statement.
The police said Yu did not possess a driver’s license and was cleared of drunk-driving suspicion.
He was taken to local hospital for treatment but will be detained later on charges of driving without a license, among other offenses, the statement read.
It was unclear at the time of writing what might have caused Yu to lose control of his car.
Liability determined by the resultant investigation will decide how much Yu will have to pay in damages to the establishment.
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