What would you have done?

[swbsam]

I'll try to do this briefly, since long buildups with crappy payoffs suck:

1. I was walking on the sidewalk of a busy street toward my parked car
2. A driver who appeared to be sleeping rushed by me, hitting parked cars and finally slammed into a double parked UPS truck
3. I saw the accident and it was pretty brutal, the front of the car was totally crushed and there was smoke coming from it, getting thicker and thicker.
4. I started running toward the car but, as the smoke increased, thought "do I want to die trying to help a guy who fell asleep at the wheel? my parents and friends would be pissed!" and instead dialed 9-1-1 because I was afraid that the car would blow up.

I still feel guilty about turning/ running away and it's nagging me - should I have helped the guy, a stranger, even if it would have meant I could have been injured? I don't know anything about cars, I'm sure you'll point out that the gas tank is in the back and chance of blowing up was nil - I wasn't thinking rationally at the point, I suppose. But, if the risk was really there - what would you do?

 

[daveymark]

wwybywb

 

[Anubis]

i prob would have just dialed 911
and waited to see the aftermath

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: daveymark
wwybywb

KT

 

[Descartes]

Although I can't say for certain, I like to think I'm the kind of person that would do whatever I can to help another. I would almost certainly have gone to the car, but thinking rationally about it I can't say it's the brightest idea.

This might be a bit of a tangent, but my hesitation now isn't so much due to concern about the car blowing up, etc.; rather, it seems like the incredibly litigious nature of the US makes it so that bystanders would rather keep out than involve themselves. I know there are bystander laws, but still... it's more of a hesitation in my mind than personal injury.

 

[FoBoT]

so you called 911?
and police/fire responded?

then you did the right thing, not everyone has training/knowledge to pull people from an accident

if you ignored it and didn't call EMS then you would be bad

 

[hanoverphist]

i would have gotten a lot closer to see if the car was on fire or just smokin first, as well as if the guy was even alive. id have helped either way, unless there was already fire engulfing the cab. but thats me.

 

[meltdown75]

don't beat yourself up, it's not like you know exactly what to do.

just think, without the proper training you could have made someone's injuries even worse.

you were there to dial 9-1-1 so give yourself some props for that.

 

[kranky]

Luckily, all we need to do in these situations is call Tom Cruise, who knows what to do.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Although I can't say for certain, I like to think I'm the kind of person that would do whatever I can to help another. I would almost certainly have gone to the car, but thinking rationally about it I can't say it's the brightest idea.

This might be a bit of a tangent, but my hesitation now isn't so much due to concern about the car blowing up, etc.; rather, it seems like the incredibly litigious nature of the US makes it so that bystanders would rather keep out than involve themselves. I know there are bystander laws, but still... it's more of a hesitation in my mind than personal injury.

I thought the same thing about myself, so I'm a bit disappointed that my actual behavior was cowardly.

The legal ramifications are a whole other matter I didn't think about. Sure, there are laws but anyone can sue anyone...

 

[Patt]

At least you dialled 911, and could provide witness statements. If you didn't do that then yeah, you should be ashamed. Sounds like you did right though.

 

[JTsyo]

Unless you think the car is about to blow, I think you keep injured people in the car. That way if they have any serious injury(especially neck), you're not making it worse. That's just my understanding though, not an EMS or anything.

 

[Nitemare]

Could have had a heart attack and not been sleeping...

I would not have really had a chance to think, would have run over and opened the door and/or tried to pull him out

 

[teclis1023]

Pulling someone from a car after an accident is a great way to mess them up even more.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
so you called 911?
and police/fire responded?

then you did the right thing, not everyone has training/knowledge to pull people from an accident

if you ignored it and didn't call EMS then you would be bad

Yes, called 911 and they responded with the EMS and the fire department. I didn't wait, though. I saw people crowding around the car for a glimpse but kept thinking "what if the car blows up!" I should have waited to see if the guy was ok, but I didn't want a hub cab in my forehead.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I was driving home from a friend's house a couple years ago with my son asleep in my car and noticed some nutball weaving in and out of traffic, sometimes going over into the center near the divider and a few minutes later he veers across 3 lanes and hits the center divider hard. I watched this entire scene unfold in front of me and as his car came to rest in the middle of the freeway I saw the guy convulsing in side the car as I drove by. I just kept on driving. Barely slowed down in fact, I lifted but never needed to stop.

There were about 20 other cars that saw the accident and some of them stopped. No need for me to waste time at an accident scene with my 3 year old in my car.

 

[Zysoclaplem]

Murderer...

 

[Yossarian]

how often do cars really blow up? I thought that only happened in movies.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
Murderer...

you've got to be kidding.

OP, what would you have wanted the guy that was in the accident to do if he had come upon you in that situation?

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
how often do cars really blow up? I thought that only happened in movies.

I always thought the same thing. The likelihood of a car actually blowing up from a typical accident is close to nil I think.

KT

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: Yossarian
how often do cars really blow up? I thought that only happened in movies.

I saw a minivan engulfed in flames on the expressway a few years back. In the middle of the day too.. It was horrific. I have no idea how it happened (maybe it was arson, an abandoned car, etc.) and the fire department was on the scene already, but it does happen sometimes.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: Yossarian
how often do cars really blow up? I thought that only happened in movies.

I saw a minivan engulfed in flames on the expressway a few years back. In the middle of the day too.. It was horrific. I have no idea how it happened (maybe it was arson, an abandoned car, etc.) and the fire department was on the scene already, but it does happen sometimes.

I doubt it blew up though. More likely it had a fuel leak or short in the electrical system which caught fire and burned the car to the ground but it didn't just blow up suddenly or from impact. I'd be surprised if the occupants were unable to escape.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
Murderer...

you've got to be kidding.

OP, what would you have wanted the guy that was in the accident to do if he had come upon you in that situation?

I actually don't know if it was ME. If it was my dad (an older fellow), I would have wanted someone to rush to his aid. Though I did the bare minimum and called it in, I suppose.

Though you guys make a lot of sense - if I opened the door and found him bleeding from his head and in a seizure, I would have no idea what to do and would have probably made things worse out of the hysterics of the moment.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
Murderer...

you've got to be kidding.

OP, what would you have wanted the guy that was in the accident to do if he had come upon you in that situation?

I actually don't know if it was ME. If it was my dad (an older fellow), I would have wanted someone to rush to his aid. Though I did the bare minimum and called it in, I suppose.

Though you guys make a lot of sense - if I opened the door and found him bleeding from his head and in a seizure, I would have no idea what to do and would have probably made things worse out of the hysterics of the moment.

so did you stick around for help to come?

edit: forget it, i read that you did.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
Murderer...

you've got to be kidding.

OP, what would you have wanted the guy that was in the accident to do if he had come upon you in that situation?

I actually don't know if it was ME. If it was my dad (an older fellow), I would have wanted someone to rush to his aid. Though I did the bare minimum and called it in, I suppose.

Though you guys make a lot of sense - if I opened the door and found him bleeding from his head and in a seizure, I would have no idea what to do and would have probably made things worse out of the hysterics of the moment.

so did you stick around for help to come?

edit: forget it, i read that you did.

No... I was scared... There, I said it! The car was from the 70s and in awful shape already - I had no idea what would happen next, so I called it in and even told the 911 operator that I wouldn't hang out there because I was a wuss. OK, I didn't use those words...