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Wang Xiangnan was driving on Wednesday on a highway in Guangdong province, a vital economic hub in southern China.
Around 2 a.m., Wang saw several vehicles traveling in the opposite direction on the four-lane highway and a fellow driver soon informed him of the collapse, local media reported.
Reacting quickly, Wang, a former soldier, positioned his truck to block the highway, effectively stopping dozens of vehicles from entering danger, Jiupai News quoted Wang as saying.
Meanwhile, his wife got out of the truck to alert other drivers of the situation, the release said.
“I didn’t think too much. I just wanted to stop the vehicles,” Wang told the China News Bulletin.
Wang’s brave actions not only received praise from Chinese social media users, but also recognition from the China Workers’ Development Foundation.
The foundation announced on Friday that, in partnership with a car company, it had awarded Wang 10,000 yuan ($1,414).
A charity project linked to tech giant Alibaba Group Holding also gave the same amount to Wang, the Dahe Daily newspaper reported.
Wang told the newspaper that he would donate the money to the families of the victims of the collapse.
Local media also reported that another man knelt down to prevent cars from continuing on the highway.
The incident came after a month of heavy rains in Guangdong.
Some of the 23 vehicles that plunged into the deep ravine burst into flames, sending up thick clouds of smoke.
About 30 people have been hospitalized.
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On Saturday, one was discharged from the hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The others were improving, but one remains in serious condition.
On Saturday, the government of Guangdong’s Meizhou city said in a statement that authorities would conduct citywide inspections of highways, railways and roads in mountainous areas.
A team led by the provincial governor is investigating the cause of the collapse, Southcn.com reported.
The Chinese government sent a vice premier to oversee recovery efforts and pushed for better safety measures after calls from President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party’s No. 2 official, Premier Li Qiang, for a swift response to the tragedy.
The dispatch of Zhang, who is also a member of one of the governing Communist Party’s governing bodies, illustrates concerns about a possible public backlash over the disaster, the latest in a series of deadly infrastructure failures.
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