Friday, May 30, 2008

Of All Things...

Mike has been working a crazy evening shift & the last couple of Friday nights I have gone to meet him for his "lunch" hour at 9:30. Tonight on my way home I was stopped at a busy intersection waiting to right turn on red. There was a lady crossing the street in front of me & as I was checking traffic an older gentleman in a burgundy sedan turned left & hit the pedestrian. It was a horrible sight to see her go up in the air, her sandals flew off, & then she hit the ground. I was completely stunned. I hollered out my window to her to ask her if she was OK & she insisted she was. She got up & limped over to sit on the curb of a Starbucks parking lot. Several teenagers in a pick up truck in the lane next to me heckled her, yelling at her to get out of the way. The old man drove away & not a single other person paused to see if she was all right or call the police or anything. I dialed 911 & spoke to the dispatcher. He was completely unimpressed with my lack of information. No, I did not have the license number of the man - I never saw the back of his car. No, I don't know if she was drunk - I don't drink; I've never been around a drunk person so how do I know how they act? I was trying to get my car over to where she was & talk to the dispatcher at the same time. Remember this is on a really busy corner. The lady was back out in the intersection, slowly limping around trying to gather her sandals. I just simply could not believe that no one else was concerned about what had happened. Not only had she been hit by a car, but the driver left the accident! Am I the only person who thinks that is a big deal? By the time I got my car over to her side of the street she had gotten up & was walking down the road. I told the dispatcher & he said he would send a car out to look for her. I'm still stunned & sickened. God forgive me if I can ever witness a scene like that & just keep going on my own way without any regard for other people. Maybe I'm being dramatic; maybe she was just fine. I don't see how that would be possible, but maybe. I feel like maybe I should have done something else like follow her down the street. I pray she is OK & that the old man doesn't EVER get behind the wheel again.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

That's horrible! Poor lady! Were you in a bad part of town or something? Wow. I've never witnessed a car accident where a pedestrian's been injured - how awful. So glad God protected her, I'm sure it could have been much worse.

The Thompsons said...

How awful! I'm so sorry you had to witness that happening. I can't believe no one else seemed to care. I too will pray that the lady is OK. Thank the Lord it wasn't any worse.

Adele said...

Wow! That is certainly horrible and sad. I hit a deer last week and I can't get the image of that out of my head. I can only imagine how you might feel having witnessed a fellow human being getting hit. I hope she is okay. Hopefully that man will turn himself in.

Troy & Sherry said...

mary ann - yah - not about to wash my fruit in soap and water :)....too lazy probably ...thanks for the idea though - how is your house coming? i can't wait to see pictures...

ExploreColorado said...

Wow, were you in shock? That happened to me two days before I headed back to Northland one year. A guy was crossing the street. A car ran a stoplight and never even slowed before hitting him. The poor old man went up and over the car. He was carrying a bag of liquor, I can still hear the bang and then the shattering glass. Fortunately I wasn't the only one who stopped. Back in those days not everyone had cell phones, but someone called the police. They came and took statements. My parents sent me a newspaper clipping at college about a month later saying the man had died, but that the runaway car had been found and the infractor apprehended. All that to say, yes, there are a few decent people left, and sometimes they do catch the bad guy. I'm sorry to hear thats not the case in your situation. I'm glad you took the time to report it. Good for you.