Patrolling officer spots stalled car on quiet road

Driver rescued from hypoglycemic shock

[Screenshot from the Korean National Police Agency's YouTube channel]
[Screenshot from the Korean National Police Agency's YouTube channel]

A driver losing consciousness inside a car stopped precariously on a rural road was saved by the quick thinking of a patrolling police officer.

The Korean National Police Agency posted dashcam footage from a patrol car on its YouTube channel Tuesday.

The video shows a red sedan stopped on a quiet country road, its rear wheels resting against the raised edge of a cornfield boundary, the car sitting crosswise across the lane. The windshield wipers were sweeping back and forth continuously despite there being no rain.

Officers found the sight suspicious and approached the vehicle. Inside, the driver was drenched in cold sweat and unable to speak coherently. Even after officers shook his shoulders to rouse him, he remained glassy-eyed and could not string words together.

The officers immediately radioed for a joint fire department response, reporting that a driver was losing consciousness. At the same time, they spotted candy and snacks inside the car. Suspecting hypoglycemic shock, an officer quickly unwrapped a piece of candy and fed it to the driver. After taking in the sugar, the driver gradually regained consciousness.

The driver was handed over to paramedics who arrived shortly afterward and taken to a hospital for treatment, where he recovered.

Hypoglycemic shock is a medical emergency in which blood sugar drops sharply, cutting off the supply of glucose to the brain. If early symptoms such as cold sweats, dizziness and trembling hands are left unattended, the condition can progress to seizures or a coma and prove fatal.

Online viewers left comments including: "Low blood sugar is terrifying. If it had gone on any longer it could have been truly catastrophic — you saved a precious life with split-second instincts." Others wrote, "It seems like this is exactly why officers do daily patrols," and "You saved a precious life through careful observation and a calm response." One viewer simply said, "That driver was very lucky."


jshan@heraldcorp.com