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Traffic police officer Xu Bin is treated at the hospital in Taizhou, Zhejiang province. Photo: Handout

Traffic police officer treated by doctor wife after he was injured on duty in eastern China

Couple had been planning to go on holiday with their son for the Dragon Boat Festival break

A traffic police officer who was critically injured while on duty over the weekend ended up being treated by his doctor wife at a hospital in eastern China.

Xu Bin was rushed to the hospital in Zhejiang province after a large container truck slammed into his police car in the early hours of Sunday, Hangzhou-based news site Metro Post reports.

He underwent emergency surgery and was in a stable condition on Monday night, the hospital said.

A container truck ploughed into Xu Bin’s police car, sending it spinning into a fence. Photo: Handout

Xu’s wife was at home that night but rushed to the hospital to help when she heard her husband was in the operating theatre. But when she became emotional, her colleagues decided it would be better for her to wait outside, one of the doctors said.

“Watching her husband’s spleen being removed was difficult for her,” the doctor told reporters.

Xu’s jaw and several ribs were fractured in the accident and his spleen and lungs were injured.

The couple had planned to take their son on holiday during the Dragon Boat Festival break after Xu worked overtime that night to help his colleagues.

But around 4.40am, the truck driver ploughed into a closed-off area of the highway and into Xu’s parked police car, sending it spinning into a fence.

The truck driver later told police he had been feeling fatigued, according to the report.

Xu was found unconscious in the car, as his colleagues worked to free him – first trying to pry open the door with an iron bar before smashing the window to reach him.

Xu Bin’s colleagues tried to pry open the car door with an iron bar, then smashed a window to free him. Photo: Handout

He was taken to the hospital in Tiantai county, in the city of Taizhou, and underwent surgery at about 6.50am.

It wasn’t the first time Xu has been in an accident involving a fatigued driver. Ten years ago, when he was 24, he escaped the impact with minor injuries and scratches.

Driver fatigue is one of the biggest dangers on the road in China, according to a 2015 study which said there were four million traffic accidents in 2010, according to official figures.

Many internet users found the couple’s story touching and sent their well wishes for Xu’s speedy recovery.

One wrote: “Good man, officer Xu! Hope you recover soon. The truck driver should be dealt with severely.”

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