Traffic police officer on crutches becomes Web celebrity

Wang Chunhua, a traffic police officer in Chongqing municipality, has become an Internet celebrity after photos of him directing traffic were posted online.

At 9:20 a.m. on Nov.9, several intersections along Xinnan Road in the municipality'sYubei district became extremely congested due to non-functioning traffic lights. Observingthe situation, Wang got out of his patrol car. By supporting himself on a crutch, Wangwalked toward a wayward cable and tried to pull it back into position. In the meantime, hecalled other colleagues for help.

"The power supply was back to normal within 10 minutes, but the congestion did not ease.I saw that I needed to direct traffic on site," he said.

Gao Qian, an auxiliary police officer, saw Wang holding the crutch with one hand anddirecting traffic with his other. He also offered instructions to various drivers stuck intraffic.

"If it were not for him, normal traffic conditions would have taken a long time to resume.The officer holding a crutch directed traffic while standing in the middle of the road. Ithought he was very dedicated. He moved me and also other passersby," said WangChangxu, a volunteer.

When a reporter noticed Wang that afternoon, he was working from his patrol car onXinnan Road, with the crutch lying beside him.

“I walked too much this morning," Wang said sheepishly. "And now the leg is swelling.”

Wang broke his left ankle at work six months ago. He was only discharged from thehospital recently. The doctor told him to rest at home for one month. Despite the doctor’sadvice, Wang returned to work soon after his discharge.