An SOS message accidentally sent out by a taxi driver last Thursday forced police and residents in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, to panic, Yangtze Evening News reported.

Some pedestrians saw that the light on the back window of a taxi was flashing with a request for police assistance.

Cui, a local resident, saw the light and immediately called police because he thought the driver was in trouble.

Police notified cops at every crossing in the city about the taxi. But when the taxi came to a halt beside a bus stop, a pedestrian asked about the light, and the driver realized she had pushed the button by accident.

(China Daily January 22, 2009)