Pickup truck driver shelters woman, 5 children from powerful winds in Hanoi

Around 4:30 pm the same day, heavy rain and strong winds swept across several areas in Hanoi.

At the time, Leu Duc Viet, 38, was driving his pickup truck home from his family’s workshop.

When he was passing a rural road, he spotted a woman struggling in the wind, accompanied by three children.

Their motorcycle toppled over, and there were no nearby houses to seek shelter.

Without hesitation, Viet pulled over and stepped out into the fierce wind, which was strong enough to knock an adult off balance.

He ran to lift two boys into the back of his truck, urging the woman, who was carrying a toddler, to make her way to the vehicle.

Despite the chaos, he kept calm and reassured the woman.

While helping her into the passenger seat with her youngest child, he spotted two more children nearby, struggling to stay upright against the wind.

He rushed over and carried them to the truck as well.

Before driving off, he instructed the children in the back to crouch low to avoid the strong winds.

He drove about 100 meters to reach a residential area where they could safely wait out the thunderstorm and heavy rain.

The group disembarked, visibly shaken but unharmed.

“I only drove them a short distance to get out of immediate danger,” Viet told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, adding that it would not have been safe to transport all of them a longer distance.

About 20 minutes later, the winds and rain weakened.

The woman returned to retrieve her motorbike and headed home.

Relatives soon arrived to pick up two of the children.

A veteran driver, Viet said this was not the first time he had helped strangers caught in severe weather.

During typhoon Yagi in 2024, he often used his vehicle to shield motorcyclists from powerful winds.

Viet shared dashcam footage of the incident on his social media page on Saturday night.

The video quickly went viral, garnering nearly six million views, over 1,400 shares, and close to 50,000 reactions.

It marked the first time he had shared his acts of kindness online.

“I hope to spread a bit of goodwill so that more people on the road will step up to help each other in times of need,” he said.

A powerful storm, internationally named Wipha, is moving through the East Vietnam Sea, bringing heavy rains and winds to many parts of northern Vietnam, including Hanoi.