I'm sure everyone's probably seen this by now. A streetlight surveillance camera catches a hit-and-run involving an elderly man. Several other cars go by, and passers-by just stand and watch, nobody offering to help.
Now as shocking as that is, read some of the comments. Stuff like "the guy was jaywalking, he deserved it" and a bunch of idiotic racist garbage.
very few people will rise up and help when something horrible happens. it's human nature- your adrenaline is pumping and in the decision of fight/flight, most pick the latter.
i'm not saying it's good or that i agree with it. but many people are cowards. had i been in the situation, i can't tell you how i'd have handled it. not because i'd choose to run off, but because i wouldn't know how to help. the guy obviously had a neck injury as a result. moving him could paralyze him or complicate his injuries further. so, as a bystander- there's not much you can really do except tell people to go around the 78-year old half-dead guy in the middle of the street.
i guess being a misanthrope doesn't really help things for me...
After watching the video I ask myself what would/could/should I have done in that situation. I am not a paramedic and I do know that moving someone with potentially fatal wounds can do them some serious damage. Short of calling 911 (which I assume someone did since there's a cop car there within 60 seconds of it happening) there is little else I, or the majority of the population could do.
The only real monster I can see here is the hit and run driver. That guy should be dealt with. The people around the scene are useless in this situation but that doesn't automatically make them bad people.
The guy who hit him probably didn't see him, since the vehicle in front of him swerved to miss the guy (or, it also appears they could have been turning right, in which case the first car would have blocked the second car's view of the man - either way, the first car saw the man and avoided him). Since people like to play the blame game, it lies on one person's shoulders - the jaywalker. Sure, the person who hit him should have stopped, but it obviously wasn't that person's fault.
So, to conclude, short of dialing 911, there was nothing anyone could really do - except maybe crowd around the body and stare, like they do in the movies (which they end up doing, about a minute after when the police show up).
Just watched a pretty good movie with a similar plot... In Jindabyne, 4 fishermen have a fishing trip planned for months. When they go, they stumble upon the body of a young woman. Rather than end their trip early, they tether the body to a tree in the water (so the body stays preserved in the cold river), fish for a few days, then go home, tell everyone, etc. Of course, what ensues is just this same thing: the fishermen are looked on with more hatred than the murderer, who isn't even sought for.
But this matter is something different. The clip is less than a minute and a half long and by the end, the guy has a cop and a half-dozen people over him. I would hardly call this "Bystanders Ignore Hit-and-Run Victim". I think Stephen Singer, the author of the article, is the real culprit here as far as those who behaved incorrectly are concerned. Him and the holes-of-ass that caused it.
Actually the article states that the police cruiser was responding to an unrelated call, and that the police chief didn't know if anyone had even called 911.
As far as "swerving to miss him" - the cars that were involved actually crossed the double line into the lane that he happened to be in! The two cars appeared to be involved in a chase - one car was chasing the other one - when they swerved into oncoming traffic in order to pass another vehicle. And I don't know anywhere where it's not a felony to hit someone and not stop.
I understand that you aren't supposed to move anyone involved in an accident like that. At the same time, when you call 911, they're going to ask you questions about whether the victim is conscious, bleeding, if they can move, etc. I didn't see one single person walk up to the guy to ask if he was okay. In fact, one guy appears to walk up to the guy and take a picture with his phone (about 1:00 into the clip).
Wasn't too long ago, probably about a month before my own car accident, when I witnessed a pretty horrific crash at a busy intersection, where a car ran a redlight and t-boned another car. Myself and a few other drivers immediately pulled over, called 911, and tried our best to ascertain both driver's injuries to the 911 operator. We did not attempt to treat either one, but we stayed with the drivers until paramedics arrived, trying to keep both of them talking.
Sadly, this type of behavior isn't really new. I remember reading stories about people being raped or shot in public areas, screaming for help, only to be ignored or even told to shut up. Or the child in Detroit whose mother died because a 911 operator refused to take his call seriously, scolding him for being a "bad child".
Originally posted by brimtown2: As far as "swerving to miss him" - the cars that were involved actually crossed the double line into the lane that he happened to be in!
Yeah, it's hard to tell why they were where they were. Bottom line: don't jaywalk, then people won't be blaming the person who hit your jaywalking ass for your mistake.
Did I miss something. Is this the same Brim? What happened to the original Brim?
As far as the situation and topic. I'm going the cold hearted route here. The guy did something he shouldn't have. He was punished for it. Fate is what it is. To the reaction. Hey. That's life. I can honestly say. I wouldn't have touched the guy. If I had my phone. I would call for help and explain the urgency of the situation and carry on. The end.
A lady and her daughter got t-boned at the end of my road one day. I was carrying in groceries when I herd the crash. I ran down to the area and looked in the car. Alot of blood. She was concious and looked in shock. Her daughter was unconcious. I ran back to my home and called 911 and she asked if I thought an ambulance would be needed. I told her yes and that there was a child unconcious. 2 minutes later, they arrived. Best I could do.
Posts: 6425 | Location: In your bowl of rice | Registered: Tue June 14 2005
they do ignore it. They just stare at him, the guy cant move but he was conscious and talking. The guy got lucky that the cop showed up, he was there because someone called on an unrelated issue.
Originally posted by DocHolidazed: Who's Brimtown2??????
Did I miss something. Is this the same Brim? What happened to the original Brim?
This is Brimtown's not-so-evil twin. Brimtown is having some technical difficulties right now, hopefully Brimtown will be back soon. Brimtown misses his Doc Holiday avatar and his cool sig.
