With the 100,000 yuan entrepreneurship fund given by Wang Chang'an and his wife, Zhao Liqiang (in the middle) said he would definitely work hard. Zhao Liqiang (on the left) and Wang Chang'an (on the right) were helping Wang Feng with his recovery training.
Reading Tip: Wang Chang'an, at the age of 54, is just an ordinary farmer in Wen County, Jiaozuo City, but his righteous act of helping his "enemy" was extraordinary. On March 11th last year, his eldest son, 25 years old, was riding to work when he was hit by a speeding minibus, resulting in second-degree disability. The driver, Zhao Liqiang, fled the scene after the accident. Zhao soon turned himself in, and the court sentenced him to one year in prison. Faced with two struggling families, Wang Chang'an was restless day and night, actively appealing to the court for leniency towards Zhao Liqiang and legally commuting his sentence. After Zhao was released from prison, yesterday Wang Chang'an took out 100,000 yuan from the 474,000 yuan compensation he received to support Zhao Liqiang's entrepreneurship for a living.
"Uncle, I will be grateful to you for my whole life!" Holding the passbook, Zhao Liqiang was so moved that his eyes turned red. In fact, Wang Chang'an, who takes great love and kindness as his creed, made such a move which seemed "normal" to his neighbors.
Reported by Journalist Guo Zhiyuan with text and pictures.
[Scene]
The victim's father gives money to the offending driver for entrepreneurship
Yesterday morning, in Zhongxin Village, Zhaoxian Township, Wen County, Jiaozuo City, 54-year-old Wang Chang'an stood in the yard, helping his 1.75-meter-tall son, Wang Feng, with physical training. The family conditions were simple; he tied two steel pipes on a wooden stake and helped his child move forward step by step.
"Feng's condition has greatly improved," he greeted Zhao Liqiang and introduced the child's rehabilitation status to Zhu Ming'an, deputy manager of the 19th Company of Zhengzhou Transport Group, and Liu Wei, director of the Safety Technology Department, who came together. Unlike previous visits, this time they were invited to Wang Chang'an's home for a special matter - on April 6th this year, after Wang Feng, who was injured in the car accident and suffered second-degree disability, received civil compensation from the offending driver Zhao Liqiang, Wang Chang'an proposed to take out 100,000 yuan and provide it free of charge for Zhao to use as startup capital.
"The money has been prepared for a long time. Keeping cash at home worried me about security. I deposited them in two parts in the bank." Saying this, Wang Chang'an's wife Zhang Xiaoxian took out the passbook from the house, handed it over to Zhao Liqiang, and whispered to him the password of the passbook. Wang Chang'an said emotionally that the 100,000 yuan entrepreneurship fund provided to Zhao Liqiang hoped that he could get up where he fell down.
After receiving the passbook, Zhao Liqiang insisted on writing a promissory note, promising to unconditionally repay all debts by the end of 2012. Wang Chang'an had no choice but to let Zhao Liqiang do as he wished.
[Recollection]
Hit-and-run eventually leads to surrender
"I am sorry to Brother Feng for my entire life!" Although both parties did not want to recall the moment Wang Feng became disabled during their conversation, as the perpetrator who fled after the traffic accident, Zhao Liqiang found it difficult to conceal his inner guilt and got up several times from the bench to tell reporters the story before and after the incident.
Zhao Liqiang said, he is 43 years old and from Zhao Gou Village, Kangdian Town, Gongyi City. A few years ago, he borrowed money to buy a minibus for transportation. "I will never forget that day, March 11th." Zhao Liqiang said, that day he received a charter business in Wen County. He drove out from home at around 5:30 in the morning. When he arrived at the intersection of Guyuang Highway and Zhaoxian Road, under the glare of the headlights of an oncoming truck, he couldn't see the vehicles and pedestrians clearly on the road. He only heard a "bang", and a cyclist was knocked down. After getting out of the car to check, he found the victim lying motionless in a pool of blood. "I thought the person was dead. I didn't report it or call the emergency number, and I hurriedly fled the scene." Zhao Liqiang regretfully said that after driving two or three thousand meters, his heart was pounding and he could no longer drive calmly. After a struggle in his mind, he called Director Liu Wei, the head of the safety technology department of the company, seeking advice on how to solve the problem. Director Liu told him, don't even think of any tricks, quickly surrender to the police.
At around 7 o'clock in the morning, Zhao Liqiang surrendered to the Wen County Traffic Police Brigade. What made him regretful was that Wang Feng, due to missing the best treatment time, remained unconscious in the local hospital for 73 days before gradually regaining consciousness. Although he struggled back from the brink of death, he was left with second-degree brain disability and eighth-degree upper limb disability. Due to fleeing after causing the accident, Zhao Liqiang was sentenced to one year in prison, his driver's license was revoked, and he was banned from driving for life.
[Turning Point]
A person who commits a mistake cannot be beaten to death
"A person makes mistakes in life, but after making a mistake and correcting it, we cannot beat him to death," Wang Chang'an said.
After his son was run over and became disabled, he was so angry at first that he wanted to grab Zhao Liqiang and beat him up badly. But then he thought about it again, realizing that Zhao didn't intentionally cause the accident, and after the incident, he sent his family multiple times to visit, indicating that he would spare no expense to save Wang Feng. "He spent 80 days in the detention center, and when he came out, he paid 54,000 yuan," Wang Chang'an said. According to his understanding, passenger transport drivers should have relatively affluent families, and Zhao Liqiang might have money but refused to pay. To find out the truth, he quietly went to Zhao Liqiang's hometown to inquire about the situation. "His family's situation is worse than ours," Wang Chang'an said. Zhao had a son and a daughter studying, and he also had to support his parents who were over 80 years old. "In order to raise medical expenses, they had already sold off valuable items like the refrigerator and washing machine at home." Through investigation, Wang Chang'an and his wife Zhang Xiaoxian believed that Zhao Liqiang was an honest person and didn't lie.
"I earnestly requested a reduction in Zhao Liqiang's sentence, and several leaders of the Wen County Court said it was unimaginable," Wang Chang'an said. His and his wife's argument was very simple: if Zhao Liqiang was imprisoned for a year and then legally compensated 600,000 yuan, it would be almost impossible for him to recover in his lifetime. He planned to sell the minibus to raise compensation funds, and continuing operations would become a dream. And they holding a large amount of compensation funds, wouldn't be able to use it all in a short time for the child's rehabilitation treatment, "It's better to release him earlier and let him continue operating the minibus business. This way, he can support a family of several people, and he can also repay loans." Wang Chang'an said that Zhao Liqiang cannot drive vehicles, but he can sell tickets. The court leaders were moved by Wang Chang'an's sincerity, immediately initiated the civil mediation procedure, sentencing Zhao Liqiang to one year in prison, suspended for two years. Both sides agreed on a civil compensation of 474,000 yuan, and Zhao Liqiang patched it together from various sources, paying it in full on April 6th this year.
[Emotion]
Two families live like close relatives
The two families are 45 kilometers apart, yet this unfortunate disaster brought their hearts closer. Their story has long been passed down locally as a legend.
"One time, Zhao Liqiang came to visit Wang Feng, and the Wang family went to visit relatives. Hearing that Zhao Liqiang had come, they drove back and took him along to visit relatives," Wang Chang'an's neighbor introduced. During the banquet, Zhang Xiaoxian's younger brother saw Zhao Liqiang's eyes turn red and mocked his sister for being too kind to the "enemy," and shouldn't introduce him to relatives and friends. The younger brother's remarks were rebuked by Wang Chang'an and his wife, who said that one must put oneself in others' shoes and not hold grudges, "Since he came to see Wang Feng, we cannot smile and greet him while raising our hands to hit."
What moved Zhao Liqiang was that according to his sister's introduction, while he was still in the detention center, Wang Chang'an had visited three times, wanting to bring him some food. Due to his special identity, his wish was not granted by the detention center. "Uncle and Auntie are good people, and their kindness I can never repay in my lifetime," Zhao Liqiang choked up and said.
According to Zhu Ming'an, in this traffic accident, Zhao Liqiang caused the accident and fled, so the commercial insurance and third-party liability insurance of the minibus were all canceled, leaving only the compulsory insurance to compensate 120,000 yuan. The remaining compensation funds were entirely borne by himself. The Wang family provided him with funds for entrepreneurship, and the company would give Zhao Liqiang care within the legal range allowed.
[Police Reminder]
Seize the "golden 8 minutes" for saving lives
Regarding this matter, Officer Shen Haoying of the Third Detachment of the Zhengzhou Traffic Police Corps stated that regardless of the size of the traffic accident, the driver should immediately decide to report the accident, call the emergency number, and preserve the scene for the investigating police officers. A scientific study showed that when a person encounters a car accident or illness, the best rescue time is 8 minutes, and this brief period is also known as the "golden 8 minutes." Every second of early rescue is extremely important for saving lives. After a driver causes an accident and flees, he has abandoned the responsibility to rescue the injured. The third-party liability insurance and commercial insurance as accident compensation insurance are legally invalid at this point, essentially also a "punishment" for the offending driver.