Watch: Man jumps into driverless truck to stop disaster in Turkey
Viral CCTV shows a bakery worker leaping into a moving pickup before disaster strikes
A bakery worker in Turkey’s capital sprinted to a driverless pickup truck rolling downhill and leapt into the cab to stop it from causing a serious accident.
The incident, captured by a nearby security camera in Ankara, has gone viral across social media. Many praised the man’s quick thinking for preventing what could have been a serious accident.
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The footage shows the man standing outside a bakery, reportedly counting cash, when he notices the unattended vehicle gathering speed along a sloping street.
Without hesitation, he runs after the moving truck, grabs the driver’s door, climbs inside while it is still rolling and applies the brakes. He stops the vehicle just metres before it could have struck parked cars, pedestrians or nearby buildings.
According to local reports, the pickup truck had apparently been left without its handbrake properly engaged, allowing it to roll down the incline unattended. The broadcaster’s CCTV footage shows the entire sequence unfolding in just a matter of seconds.
Witnesses described the incident as unfolding so quickly that there was little time for anyone else to react.
Social media users quickly dubbed the bakery worker a “real-life hero”. Clips of the rescue spread across X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, attracting hundreds of thousands of views within hours.
The man’s identity has still not been officially released, and authorities have not reported any injuries resulting from the incident.
Road safety experts say unattended vehicles can begin moving if the parking brake is not fully engaged, particularly on sloping roads, stressing the importance of properly securing parked vehicles.
While modern vehicles include additional parking safety systems, human error still is a leading cause of unattended vehicle rollaways, so drivers should not rely on these systems alone.
For residents in Ankara, however, the incident ended without tragedy, thanks largely to one passerby’s willingness to act within seconds.
