I Saw A Man Almost Fall To His Death
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I was driving up a rather long and narrow overpass last Friday. Traffic was moving slowly, but at a constant pace. It wasn’t just over a street. No, this one traversed fields and was meant to allow traffic to enter onto another major highway.
The car ahead of me put on his brakes rather abruptly causing me to do the same and steer to the left so I could avoid hitting him. Then I saw a jeep three cars ahead of me trying to avoid hitting the car in front of him.
He swerved to the right and then to the left. He clearly was trying to avoid rear-ending the car ahead of him just like I was, but in so doing he caused his car to come up over the guard rail which was made partly of a concrete wall and then railing atop that.It happened so quickly. When it was over, he and his car sat at an angle on the railing, his front wheels dangling over. Had he been going a little faster, I’m quite certain he would have fallen to his death.
That had me counting my blessings right then and there. Naturally, I stopped to see if he was all right. Aside from being visibly shaken, he was okay. Couldn’t have been more than 21, I’d guess. We both looked over the side and no doubt thought the same thing, “What if…?”
I said to him that he had an angel watching over him. He agreed.
What troubled me was that the two cars in front of me did not stop. They slowly drove around because he, after all, was moving around so he must have been all right, right? That was true, but geesh, their inaction screamed of “not my problem”.
It reminded me of a surveillance video I saw not too long ago. It was taken outside along a small shopping area. A customer was entering a store, but before he entered he noticed that the place was being held up. He temporarily stopped the criminal from exiting by blocking the glass door. A couple of seconds later, you see the man being shot and the criminal running free.
Fortunately, the wound was not fatal (at least at that moment) because the customer was still standing grabbing his chest.
Now get this…
He walked over to some people who were standing around their car asking for help. ASKING FOR HELP! They just looked at him as though he had just picked a penny off the ground saying, “Look what I found!”
Where was the compassion? Where was the good Samaritan? Have we truly become a society of automatons only capable of fulfilling our own needs?
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October 29, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Sadly most people are like that, – indifferent. That must have been a sight to see.
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October 29, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Those type experiences always make me reflect and remember what is really important.
Alot of people probably are indifferent but I wonder if people have become so used to watching extreme things on TV, it just doesn’t register when they happen in reality.
Remember the Starbuck’s employee who required the firefighter to pay for the case of water on 9-11-01. We have been conditioned to only think of ourselves. I hurts to see that kind of thing
Of course, thank God there are still some good people out there who will offer their help. You did
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October 29, 2007 at 4:37 pm
A few years ago, I fell down some icy stairs, breaking a few ribs. Funny thing is, I did not feel the pain for a few days, then all of sudden I could not stand up at all. Of course, this happened as I was walking down the street.
People walked around me as I knelt on the sidewalk and looked down at me, gripping my ribs in pain, as though I was homeless or some type of vagrant teen.
The good thing is there are people that will stop and help, like you. As long as the good people who care about the welfare of strangers don’t get discouraged, we can trust that there will always be some good in the midst of all the poop.
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October 29, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Wow, that is awful. Definitely count your blessings!
It is sad to hear that the people in front of you drove off without stopping. As a Christian, I feel its my duty to stop in those situations despite personal risk.
I do know what some people prefer to call authorities, rather than pulling over to help. I guess its something at least, but in many situations it isn’t enough.
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October 29, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I don’t even know what to say in response to this. It does make you wonder what’s up with people. I know once when I was in college I was driving to school on a pretty snowy day…
I got cut off really bad and ended up fishtailing all over the road. My head was spinning and as I stumbled out I was met by someone who was nice enough to see if I was ok.
Even though I wasn’t hurt, it was good to know someone cared, and it certainly helped my insurance claim.
Sometime after that I “returned the favor” by stopping for a woman who was hit by a drunk driver. Thank goodness she was ok.
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October 29, 2007 at 11:32 pm
@Baron:
A bit of an eye-opener for sure.
@Ad Tracker:
I think you’re on to something there. We’re becoming so desensitized to things around us. I liken it to video games of the violent sort. People say they don’t generate violence, but I say otherwise. How could they not? It gets you to thinking in a certain way.
@Danielle:
Yikes, that must have been painful. I’m talking about both the physical and emotional pain that must have accompanied it because of all those looks you were getting. They were probably thinking, “I better not stop or I’ll get what she has.” That’s so sad. Glad to know there was someone willing to do the right thing. Maybe that act helped to set an example to others.
@Kyle:
You could be right about the people calling someone. I hadn’t thought of that. So that is something.
@Bush:
My only hope is that not everyone has to go through what you did to decide on helping others (not that you wouldn’t have helped that woman beforehand anyway). Indeed, it’s when we are affected by something that it changes us enough to do things we would not have done otherwise.
October 31, 2007 at 8:10 am
As a quick follow up to my previous comment, I was thinking about this yesterday while driving in the car with my 9 month old in the back.
What would I do with my kids were in the backseat? In today’s society, we are told to not put ourself at risk and instead call the authorities. My personal beliefs would force me to check on the individual, but if my kids were with me in the car, I don’t think I could get out of the car to check on the individual. Instead, I would call 911 or whoever the proper authorities are for the situation. I don’t know if that is the right thing to do or not, but I’m kind of overprotective of my kids. If it was just me and my wife or another adult, I would pull over.
Anyway, I live by the saying “Only God Can Judge Me”, and I have it written on my arm inside a cross to remind me each day. I also apply it to judging others. In this case, those people ahead of you probably should have pulled over, but we don’t know their situation, so they may have had a good reason not to pull over, if there is such a thing as a good reason.
Anyway, that is my thoughts on the situation. I’m proud of you for doing the right thing for you and pulling over. I’m sure it also meant a lot to that individual.
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November 1, 2007 at 12:51 am
@Kyle
That’s a point I hadn’t considered and you made me stop and think about how I judge others so easily. Thanks for the wake-up call and the kind words, buddy.
November 1, 2007 at 5:32 am
Mark –
Wasn’t intended as a wake up call. I think your post was great and like I said, I was still thinking about it a day later.
I was just trying to point out that sometimes its easier to figure things out if you take a step back and try to look at it from others perspectives. As human beings, our instincts are to judge, and I’ve spent my last 10 years trying to clean myself of that. It won’t ever fully work, but I’ve gotten better.
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November 1, 2007 at 6:15 am
@Kyle:
Oh, I knew what you were saying. You gave me pause to think about it in that way. Maybe those people who drove off did have valid reasons for driving off. Either way, it wasn’t for me to judge.