Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report 

Video Credit: AsiaWire

This is the moment a teenager learning how to drive in his dad’s van muddles up the pedals beneath his feet and plunges 20 feet into a river with his parent in the passenger seat.

The accident happened in the town of Xiaolan in Zhongshan City in South China’s Guangdong Province on the afternoon of 14th November.

CCTV footage from the river embankment shows Mr Wu’s son, 19, arriving at a junction in his silver van but speeding up instead of turning left.

The van races towards the concrete balustrade and ploughs through them before plunging 20 feet off Huicheng Road into the water below.

The pair are seen standing in the chest-high water shortly after, with both Mr Wu, 43, and his son said to have suffered only minor injuries.

Xiaolan police said Mr Wu’s son, who is in the middle of taking his driving exams, was practising how to drive with the help of his dad.

He had mistaken the accelerator pedal for the brake, causing the crash, they said.

The front of Mr Wu’s van was badly damaged, and the vehicle has been towed away.

For driving without a licence, Mr Wu’s son was fined 1,500 RMB (165 GBP) and given 15 days of administrative detention.

Mr Wu would also be punished for lending his vehicle to an individual who he knew did not have a licence, the authorities.

They did not say how much he would be fined.

It is unclear whether the damages will be covered by Mr Wu’s insurer given the unlawful circumstances leading up to the crash.

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