Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Hero uses van to block runaway car


Hero uses van to block runaway car


June 20, 2008 - 11:46AM

Police have praised a van-driver who successfully stopped a speeding car on a German highway after its driver suffered a fatal heart attack at the wheel.

As the car in the fast lane veered to its left and skidded along a metal safety barrier, the alert van driver, 39, pulled out to the right, overtook it and saw the driver slumped over the wheel.

He placed his van in front of the out-of-control car, allowed it to gently hit the rear end and then applied the brakes hard.

Ambulance crews managed to revive the car driver, 50, but he died shortly after in hospital of the effects of the heart attack.

German police said the incident on Wednesday near Cologne might have ended as a horrific head-on collision if the hero, who has experience of emergencies as a volunteer fire-fighter, had not acted.

He drove away in the slightly crumpled van, which belongs to his employer.

DPA

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/20/1213770887579.html

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