Heroic taxi driver jumps into out-of-control car, slams brakes, video shows

Authorities in China are praising a taxi driver who sprang into action to stop a runaway car that was rolling through traffic.

Hu Wengang told state broadcaster CCTV he was sitting at a stoplight in central China's Hubei province when he heard someone calling for help. Then he saw a vehicle go sliding down the hill with nobody at the wheel – and passengers, including two children, still inside.

Wengang didn’t hesitate. In surveillance video, he can be seen jumping out of his cab and sprinting toward the out-of-control vehicle.

"The car was running faster and faster. I could barely catch up with it,” Wengang said. "When I nearly overtook the car, I held the door and the wheel all at once, jumped inside the car and pulled it up."

Chinese police say the vehicle lost control after the driver failed to fully engage the parking brake. If not for Wengang, authorities said, the situation could have ended up much worse.