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VIDEO: Bus Driver Keeps His Head As Light Pole Smashes Through Windshield

(Note: Don't click on the videos we're writing about here unless you're prepared to be scared.)

Mao Zhihao is lucky to be alive, and his passengers are lucky he reacted quickly.

As this surveillance video shows, Mao was nearly skewered Monday when the bus he was driving in the eastern Chinese province of Zheijang came upon an accident scene where a light pole had been knocked over and was sticking out into traffic.

The pole smashed through the windshield. But Mao was able to duck in time. He was then able to bring the bus to a stop, crawl out from under the pole and help his passengers get to safety.

SkyNews says he's being hailed as a hero. Mao reportedly suffered a ruptured spleen. "I was pinned down by the lamppost and put the bus into gear instinctively," he said from his hospital bed.

We've posted before about scary things flying through windshields. Check out this post from April 2011: "Scariest Car Crash Ever Caught On Video."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.