Rude Awakening: Woman Falls Asleep on Scooter and Collides With Truck

This incredible video shows a Russian woman falling asleep while driving a scooter down a highway. She is jolted awake when she collides with the side of a truck. The most incredible aspects of the film is that the woman does not appear seriously injured and is able to walk away.

The viral video says that the accident happened on a highway in Sochi, in southwest Russia at 7 am. It is amazing that she was not hit by the truck that passed her, which was incredibly reckless in cutting in front of her in a merging lane with what looks like just a few feet of space.

By the way, I often teach the liability of rescuers in torts and note that most people are incredibly well-meaning but often lacking in judgment in responding to accidents. One of the worse things that you can do in such an accident is force the injured party to her feet or pull her to the side of the road. Many of the worst injuries are sustained after a crash when a person’s neck or spin are snapped by such movement. This is why trained personnel leave the person until they can be lifted with a crash board after examination.

Overall, however, jurors are extremely deferential to rescuers who are potentially liable for injuries caused by negligent rescues in torts.