Shanghai Police Stop Driver Suffering Stroke on Expressway

Shanghai police intercepted a driver who was suffering an acute stroke on an expressway after his family reported him missing, preventing a possible serious traffic accident, police said today.

The man's wife called police about 11am on September 1, saying her husband had not returned after driving their daughter to work around 8:30am. His phone could not be reached, and the family feared he may have had a medical emergency because of a history of cerebral infarction.

Police launched a missing-person search and reviewed public surveillance footage around the area. Officers soon found the vehicle and traced its route, noticing an abnormal driving pattern and visible damage to the car's left side mirror and bumper, suggesting it had already been involved in scrapes along the way.

Checkpoint footage showed the driver with a stiff facial expression and obvious distortion around his eyes and mouth. He was gripping the steering wheel with both hands but appeared to be struggling, leading police to suspect he had suffered a stroke and was close to losing control of the vehicle.

Police set out to intercept the car. By then, it had left Pudong and entered the G40 Shanghai-Shaanxi Expressway toward Chongming. Police predicted it might pass the Chenhai Highway toll station after traveling more than 40 kilometers.

At 2pm, officers stopped the vehicle at the toll station. When they knocked on the window, they found the driver disoriented, with unfocused eyes and slurred speech. Police helped him turn off the engine, get out of the car and kept order at the scene before working with his family to send him to hospital for emergency treatment.

Doctors later confirmed that the man had suffered an acute cerebral infarction, causing impaired consciousness and reduced judgment. Police said the consequences could have been severe if he had continued driving. He is now out of life-threatening danger after timely treatment.