□ Reporter Tian Zhen/Text Feng Jie/Pictures Today's Zhengzhou report: A 64-year-old sanitation worker, Old Xie, was hit by a bus behind him when he bent down to pick up a plastic bag. More than ten sanitation worker colleagues rushed to the scene and bought 50 popsicles that Old Xie loved to eat before he passed away. They scattered them on his body as both a tribute and to cool his corpse.
● The sanitation worker fell in front of the bus
At 6:40 yesterday morning, at the intersection of Dunmu Road and West Third Street in Zhengzhou’s train station area, about 50 meters north, 64-year-old sanitation worker Old Xie was holding a woven bag and bending over to pick up scraps of paper and plastic bags off the ground. That day, their supervisor had told them there would be a “big inspection.” Old Xie was responsible for the eastern half of the road, while his colleague Zhou Xiaoni was responsible for the western half.
Zhou Xiaoni said that when she looked up, she saw a bus suddenly rushing towards Old Xie from behind, moving very fast. She shouted out a warning, but it was too late. Just as Old Xie picked up a plastic bag, his body flew into the air and landed several meters away. Zhou Xiaoni ran over, finding that Old Xie had already stopped breathing with blood flowing from his head.
The bus stopped, and the driver got out to ask about the situation. Zhou Xiaoni called over two nearby sanitation workers to guard the scene, while she and two other colleagues gathered more than a dozen coworkers to pay their respects to Old Xie.
● His wife is also a sanitation worker
These sanitation workers belong to the Nanguan Street Office of Guancheng District. Relevant leaders arrived at the scene and urgently sought out Old Xie’s family members. Old Xie’s wife, Yang Tiezhen, is also a sanitation worker. When she was brought to the scene, she immediately collapsed beside her husband and began wailing loudly.
Old Xie has two sons and one daughter, with his eldest son working in Qilihe, Zhengzhou. Staff from the Nanguan Street Office found the phone number of Old Xie’s eldest son and arranged a vehicle to go find him.
● Colleagues buy Old Xie's favorite popsicles
The sanitation workers looked at the sky; the temperature was quite high. They found a large umbrella and placed it to the southeast of Old Xie to provide shade. When they took pictures of Old Xie, his colleagues uncovered the plastic sheet covering his body: it was full of wrapped popsicles.
Zhou Xiaoni said that before the office leader drove off to find Old Xie’s eldest son, some colleagues suggested buying popsicles for Old Xie. On one hand, the weather was too hot, and they were concerned about Old Xie’s body deteriorating. On the other hand, it was a way to bid farewell to Old Xie, "Old Xie loved eating popsicles." The office leader handed over some money, and the colleagues quickly bought 50 popsicles from a nearby store. They scattered each stick onto Old Xie’s body one by one, and as they did so, some colleagues began sobbing quietly.
Police officers from the Zhengzhou Traffic Police Brigade Three temporarily set up a police cordon next to Old Xie's body and were responsible for directing traffic. The driver of the offending bus was subsequently taken away for investigation. The offending vehicle, which remained at the scene, had its left front fender damaged and bore the words "Zhengzhou Transportation Group Co., Ltd." and "Passenger Transport 02-2028" on its body.