Breakdown of После аварии водитель сидел в ступоре.
в
in / to (direction)
сидеть
to sit
водитель
driver
после
after
Questions & Answers about После аварии водитель сидел в ступоре.
Why is в ступоре in the Prepositional case here?
Russian treats certain deep emotional and psychological states as metaphorical 'containers' that a person is physically inside. Just like you can sit in a room (в комнате), you can sit in a stupor (в ступоре), in shock (в шоке), or in despair (в отчаянии). This requires the preposition в plus the Prepositional case.
Why use the imperfective verb сидел instead of a perfective verb, since the accident is already over?
The accident is over, but the focus here is on the ongoing state that followed it. Сидел (was sitting) shows he remained motionless in that state for a continuous period. If you used the perfective сел, it would specifically mean 'he sat down' (the physical action of taking a seat), which doesn't make sense if he was already in the driver's seat.
Could we use the Instrumental case here, like saying he sat 'with a stupor'?
No, that would sound unnatural. While English speakers might say someone reacted 'with shock', Russian strictly prefers the 'container' metaphor (в + Prepositional) for these intense, immersive mental states. You are enveloped by the stupor, so you cannot use с + Instrumental (like со ступором).
Does авария apply to any type of accident?