Phantom Maelstrom

Wang Yue before she was run hit by an approaching van.

Yue Yue or Wang Yue was the Chinese little girl under 2 years old who was left bleeding in a road after being ran over by two different vehicles and then ignored by 18 passersby.

The horrific video footage of the two-year-old Wang Yue, being knock down and ran over by a van in Foshan city, in the southern province of Guangdong emerged earlier last week. As she bleeds on the narrow street, about more than a dozen apathetic people walk or cycle past her for the next seven minutes before a second truck runs over her. This became the most talked about topic on China's version of Twitter, and even all over the world.

Little Wang Yue in a coma.

Little Yue Yue was eventually drag into the sidewalk by Chen Xianmei, shortly thereafter, Yue's mother arrived and called for help.

The toddler was taken to a hospital and survived for more than a week before eventually dying of multiple organ failure. Both drivers who ran over the little girl had been arrested. One of these drivers earlier offered to pay the parents on the condition that he would not go to jail. However, the parents declined and demanded justice instead.

This was what the driver of the first vehicle claimed:

"You saw that girl on the CCTV footage, she didn't see where she was going. I was on the phone when it happened, I didn't mean it."

"When I realized I had knocked her down, I thought I'd go down to see how she was. Then when I saw she was already bleeding, I just decided to just step on the gas pedal and escape seeing that nobody was around."

Authorities in Foshan presented Chen Xianmei, a rubbish collector who went to Yue Yue's aid with money as reward. Another company in the city has also offered to donate to her family and rescuer. Chen Xianmei, however, instead of being praised as a heroine, was even criticized by some Chinese. They say she did it only for popularity and money.

China's economic boom and the growing disparity between the rich and poor have made changing social values a contentious topic, with some lamenting what they see as materialism replacing morals.

Yueyue's father told Chinese television:

"Yueyue is so lovely. If I quarreled with her mother and her mother cried, she would tell us not to cry, she always try to amuse us. I just hope my child will wake up and call me dad again."

After a week in coma, little Yueyue finally gave up her struggle for life. Earlier, it was reported that she took deep breaths with the aid of a respirator, and was responding to a pain in her arm. However, her injuries were so severe that despite advance medical treatment, she was unable to make it.

Her death eventually prompted lawmakers to meet and discuss introduction of "Good Samaritan" legislation.

Additional Pictures

Little Yueyue with her mother and elder brother.

Yueyue's parents.

Yueyue and his brother.

Yueyue before and after the accident.