On December 25th, a traffic accident occurred in Sunzhuang Road, Zhangdian Town, Luyi County, Henan Province, where a truck overturned, causing the daily chemical products it was carrying to scatter on the road, leading to people rushing to grab them in a frenzy, sparking widespread discussion. Commentators believe that such incidents are related to the moral decline under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party and the worsening economy.
In the early morning of December 25th, a video showcasing a “large truck accident with people grabbing goods” went viral on the internet.
At 6 a.m. on December 25th, a traffic accident happened on Sunzhuang Road in Zhangdian Town, Luyi County, Henan Province. A truck driven by a driver surnamed Li was traveling from south to north along Provincial Highway 214 when it collided with a parked brick-laden vehicle on the roadside, resulting in varying degrees of damage to both vehicles. Daily chemical products such as soap, shampoo, and conditioner that were loaded on Li’s truck were scattered on the road. Despite warnings from bystanders to stop grabbing, several people disregarded the cautions and continued to collect the scattered goods.
According to the report by the Beijing News, the police in Luyi County confirmed the occurrence of this incident.
This incident has stirred up discussions on the internet:
Some netizens recalled that in the past when a truck overturned in the village, locals would voluntarily help collect the goods and guard the scene. They were taught from a young age that they should not take things that do not belong to them, making it difficult for them to comprehend such acts of grabbing. Many netizens criticized this act of taking advantage of the situation, stating that the driver was already unfortunate enough due to the accident, and the actions of these people were like adding insult to injury.
Some netizens mentioned that “this is not necessarily related to age, I guess 80% of the culprits are elderly rural individuals, this behavior is quite prevalent among this group in many places.” “We often see overturned cars here, but never such a chaotic scene.”
Indeed, in recent years, similar incidents have occurred frequently in mainland China, with several reported just this year.
On October 26th, the Chengdu Marathon concluded. On October 27th, a netizen posted that after the 2025 Chengdu Marathon, a significant amount of unattended supplies such as boxed mineral water leftover at some aid stations were taken away by passersby, disregarding warnings from on-site staff.
On July 24th, a truck from a logistics company in Shandong overturned and fell off a bridge in Qufu, with over ten tons of frozen goods being grabbed by villagers, resulting in a loss of over four hundred thousand RMB.
On June 20th, over 25,000 kilograms of ripe peaches grown by a farmer in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, were grabbed by nearby residents; on the same day, potatoes grown by a potato farmer in Suzhou, Anhui Province, were also snatched.
In early June, a watermelon-grabbing incident occurred in Nanning, Guangxi, where a watermelon farmer lamented that numerous villagers trespassed into the watermelon field to steal watermelons, making it impossible to stop them due to the sheer number of people.
Current affairs commentator Li Linyi expressed that while such incidents were relatively rare in the past, they have been occurring frequently in recent years. He pointed out that first, under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, the overall moral decline among Chinese people has led many to disregard the consequences of their actions due to atheistic indoctrination, becoming more selfish and less considerate of others. Second, with the declining economy in China in recent years, many people without a stable income are more prone to taking advantage without moral constraints, resorting to seizing opportunities to benefit themselves, even if it means taking advantage of others in unfortunate situations.