Recently, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, a female ride-hailing driver accidentally drove her car into a lake while transporting a passenger to an interview at Wuhan Light Industry University. Due to poor visibility caused by heavy rain that day, she mistakenly drove into the lake. During the rescue process, the female driver kept holding up her phone used for receiving orders to prevent it from getting wet. A video of the incident went viral online, sparking empathy from many netizens.
On June 10th, ride-hailing driver Ms. Mou shared the details of that day with “Extreme News”. According to Ms. Mou’s recollection, around 5 a.m. on the 8th, she woke up early as usual, opened her phone to start accepting orders. After driving for over an hour, around 6:30 a.m., she received the third order, with the destination being the entrance of Wuhan Light Industry University. However, as the rain intensified upon arriving at the school gate, Ms. Mou heard the male passenger mention he was going to the exam site for an interview at the university, so she decided to drive him to the interview building.
As the vehicle approached the library area, Ms. Mou vaguely saw a stone pillar on the road and had to carefully maneuver around it. Due to the poor visibility, Ms. Mou turned the steering wheel, accidentally driving the car into the lake.
Ms. Mou said she was shocked at that moment, blurting out, “I can’t swim, it’s over, what should we do?” The male passenger beside her responded, “I can’t swim either.” He then called the police while Ms. Mou remembered she had accepted the next order on her phone. She then contacted the next passenger, briefly explained the situation, asked them to cancel the order, and request another ride.
Subsequently, following the instructions of the firefighter on the rescue call, the two opened the rear window, sat in the back seat, and waited for rescue. Before the vehicle completely submerged, the fire rescue team arrived on the scene and rescued both of them. During the rescue, Ms. Mou kept holding up her phone to prevent it from getting wet.
Ms. Mou stated, “I only have one phone, once it’s in water, I can’t use it anymore, losing all contact with the outside world, and unable to accept orders again.”
Witnesses at the scene recalled that after Ms. Mou was rescued and stood in the rain, her face pale, body trembling, looking at the car in the lake, tears or raindrops glistening in her eyes.
Ms. Mou mentioned that currently, she is raising her two children alone. Her eldest daughter just graduated and is job hunting, while her son is in college. She plans to rent another car from a rental company soon and continue driving for ride-hailing. “I can’t stop, I urgently need to solve my survival problem.”
Ms. Mou’s story has evoked empathy from many netizens online. “Just like delivering food, working overtime in heavy rain, I fell heavily, got up immediately to check if the food was damaged. I raised my hand while falling, causing me to fall hard. But my first reaction was not to check my injured knees, but to check the food that cost just over ten yuan.” “Even facing death, we have to avoid penalties from the platform, that’s reality.”
“Even when our lives are in danger, we are busy making calls.” “Life is so tough nowadays.” “Ah, it’s mostly helplessness. I hope all fighters facing difficulties can hold on, believing that things will get better.” “Living is not easy! Cherish every moment.”