President Tran Dai Quang on September 8 sent his letter of congratulation to truck driver Phan Van Bac for his bravery to save the lives of 30 passengers travelling on a coach through a pass in from the Central Highlands of Lam Dong province recently. 



Driver Phan Van Bac


On September 6, the 30-year-old driver of Lam Dong province was driving a truck belonging to the Duc Trong Transport Co-operative from the province’s Bao Loc city to HCM City, when he realised that a coach travelling behind him appeared to be losing control. 

He decided to drive his truck in such a manner that the bottom of his truck covered the top of the coach and stopped it from losing control on the 500m sloping road of the Bao Loc Pass.

In his letter, President Quang described this is a brave deed and reflects the Vietnamese people’s tradition of ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’

For the bravery, Bac was awarded the “Golden Wheel” title of this year.

The title was awarded following a decision made by Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, also Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety. 
Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia sent a letter praising Bac for his bravery. 

The Ministry of Transport and the National Committee for Traffic Safety also recommended to the Prime Minister to present Bac a certificate for bravery.

On September 6, a bus suddenly experienced brake failure while travelling down the Bao Loc Mountain Pass in the central highlands province of Lam Dong. Dozens of passengers on the bus panicked. Many people screamed and waved out the windows, seeking help.

Bac was driving a truck filled with agricultural produce at that time. He decided to take action. He quickly sped up and overtook the bus and signalled the bus driver to hit the tail of his truck to decrease the speed.

"Usually, the vehicles are really slow while going down the mountain pass so when I saw the bus speeding, I thought it must had problems. The passengers were screaming too so I signalled the bus driver," Bac said.

Bac had to drive the truck for 400 metres along the steep cliff before the bus could slow down. Luckily, both the Bac's truck and the bus came down the mountain pass safely. Both of the vehicles were badly damaged. One passenger was injured from the impact and admitted to hospital. 

"At that time, my only thought was how could stop the bus from heading off the cliff. I wasn't sure I could, I only hoped that I could. I took a breath of relief when everyone safely got off the bus," he said.

Toan, the bus driver, expressed his appreciation. He said, "I was struggling to not veer off the cliff when Bac came to the rescue. I don't know what would happen if Bac weren't there. I'm really grateful and admire his action." Dtinews

VNA