Bus passengers stop packed coach from crashing on motorway after driver suffers stroke and collapses at wheel (video)

The dramatic moment a bus driver suffered a stroke and collapsed at the wheel while driving was caught on video. Fortunately, two bus passengers stopped the bus from crashing just in time.

CCTV footage from the long-distance coach shows the driver shaking as he suddenly begins to suffer a stroke. Almost immediately, he collapsed to the side of his seat with his seatbelt still on while driving on a motorway in the city of Linyi in East China’s Shandong province.

The bus slammed into the crash barrier and Xie Shangpan, who was on the bus at the time, quickly rushed forward and grabbed onto the steering wheel. A second passenger, Wu Yueping, is then seen running over to help. The pair eventually parked the bus by the roadside successfully before calling the police.

Xie, 45, who has been a bus driver himself for more than 20 years, said they were 17 hours into their journey when their driver suffered the stroke.

He said:

I felt the bus hit the crash barrier, so I thought the driver had fallen asleep and wanted to wake him up. 

Then I saw the driver completely unconscious, dangling by the air. If not for his seat belt, he would’ve fallen straight onto the floor.

I was so shocked I couldn’t even make the sounds to call for help. All I wanted to do was steady the steering wheel.

We were very lucky there were no other vehicles near us during the minute the bus was out of control.

The bus driver was taken to hospital in an ambulance and is still recovering from his stroke. Meanwhile, Xie and Wu are being hailed as heroes for saving the more than 30 passengers on the coach.

Watch the video below.